One of the Boys
by Scorpiius
Summary: Tris Prior isn't the hottest girl in school. Due to being raised by boys, she's more comfortable throwing a ball than playing dress-up and everybody knows it, too. When her boyfriend of two years gets sick of her baggy t-shirts and ripped jeans, he breaks it off with her for being too boyish. Can Tris get some help from an enemy to win him back, or will she fall for someone else?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: If you didn't know, I already posted this story with one chapter and then when I went to write chapter 2, I completely got stuck in writer's block. So, as I was planning on how I was going to continue this story, the best way to tell the story would mean starting over because I hate the way I started the first version. So, I give you "Take Two" and this will not begin with the break up and there will be plenty differences. For those of you who are new: Welcome! No need to worry, just enjoy the story!**

**I appreciate all feedback! (Well, at least the positive kind)**

**Sorry for any mistakes!**

**Enjoy, lovelies!**

**-Scorpiius**

* * *

_One of the Boys: Chapter one_

_12 years ago_

The four year old girl coughed violently, backing away from the fire pit. She swats the air around her, batting away the smoke that already penetrated her sense of smell.

"That's why we don't play with fire, Beatrice." A man laughs, scooping up the child and carrying her away from the ominous could of smoke. He collapses into a lawn chair a few yards away from the pit and the little girl cuddles into his lap, taking the glasses off the man's face and putting them on her own.

"But, daddy," The girl starts, looking up at the man with magnified blue eyes. He's noticed they get darker each day, slowly turning the color of the sky during a thunderstorm. "Firemen go near fires all the time!"

Her father chuckles, pushing her tangled blonde hair behind the arm of the glasses. "They're called _fire_men for a reason, sweetie." He reminds her, amused. "Plus, they have the right equipment to deal with fires, so they don't get hurt."

She tilts her head sideways, lips puckered in confusion. "Equipment?"

"Gear." He rephrases and she nods her head, an 'aw' expression now conquering her facial features. She's familiar with gear. Soccer gear, football gear, baseball gear... Her big brother taught her all the basics of sports when she picked up a baseball for the first time at four months. He called it destiny.

"Can I be a fireman?" She asks with hope.

"You can be anything you want to be." He promises her. "And, it's fire_woman_ for you."

"Why firewoman, daddy?" She asks, head tilting again.

"Well, 'cause you're a girl." He says, an obvious statement.

"But, I wanna be a fireman!" She exclaims.

He looks at her nervously, surprised at her outburst. "You can be anything you want to be." He repeats to her. She leans into him, face smug.

Her father surveys the circle, hoping the other parents didn't catch his daughter's little declaration of pride. The Circle is a patch of grass in the middle of their block, between the two rows of houses shaped into a skinny 'U'. The neighbors gather in the Circle for holidays like the Fourth of July for a cook-out. The adults let their kids loose and kick back with a beer or two, chat with the others while the aroma of smoke and grilling burgers surround them.

"Can I go play with Caleb?" Beatrice asks after a few minutes of silence between them. "I promise I won't tough the fire."

He looks at his daughter and her lips in pout position. How can you say no to that face? "Don't you wanna play with Susan and Nita."

Her face contorts into a look of disgust. "Blech, daddy!" She sticks out her tongue and he frowns. "All they wanna do is play with dolls! I'd rather _shoot hoops_." She smiles proudly at her correct use of the slang her big brother taught her.

"Beatrice, that is not nice." He reprimands, taken aback.

"Sorry, daddy, but it's true." The girl says defiantly, crossing her skinny arms stubbornly. "Can I go now? Please."

Her father opens and closes his mouth, like a goldfish, with a loss for words. He helped create this child, changed her diapers, feed her, cuddled her when she cried at midnight. He could draw her from memory and get every detail right, but now it's like looking at a different child. His perfect daughter never would be out-right rude to another, so disrespectful. Her previous words shocked him to the core.

He tells his little girl to go ahead, a forced smile plastered on his tan face. She can't tell the difference between fake and real smiles yet, so she begins to run to the basketball hoop at the edge of the Circle, where Caleb waves at her excitedly.

She's intercepted, though, by a woman scooping her into her arms. The young girl squeals with delight, wrapping her thin arms around the woman's neck. Their hair is the same shiny, bright blonde, but while the child's is ratty and tangled, the woman's hair is in a neat and orderly bun.

"Mommy!" The girls screams cheerfully, a smile lighting up her face. Her tiny hands grip her mother's gray suit jacket.

"Bea!" The woman exclaims with the same amount of enthusiasm, squeezing her daughter in her arms.

She places the girl on her hip and brushes a lock of hair out of her blue eyes.

"I'm going to shoot hoops with Caleb." Beatrice tells her gleefully. "Do you wanna watch?"

"I do, baby doll." She sets her on the ground and kneels in front of her, taking the glasses off her daughter. "Let me say hello to daddy?"

The child nods and scurries to the court. The boys welcome her as if she's one of them, bouncing her the ball with grins. The older lady goes to the child's father, taking a seat on his lap. He gives a fake groan of pain, making her swat at him teasingly.

"How was work?" He asks her, circling his arms around her slim waist.

She sighs and leans in him, kicking off her heels. "Exhausting." She offers and he kisses her jaw. She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. "It's heart breaking. Hearing all about these children that are getting abused. Sickening, really.

"I agree full-heartedly." He nods, tracing circles into her hips with his skinny fingers. 'Piano fingers' is what she used to call him in college.

They're silent, listening to the sounds around them. The meat sizzling on the grills, adults' laughter, beer bottles clinking. Kids' exclamations, Beatrice's the loudest of all the others.

"Beatrice mouthed-off today." He tells his wife, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"What?" She ass, turning her neck to look back at him in shock.

He nods with puckered lips and raised eyebrows, confirming what he said to be true. He tells her about the conversation he had earlier with their daughter.

"Girls will be girls." She reasons weakly with a tired voice.

"That's the thing, though, Natalie." He begins. "She doesn't act like a girl, she doesn't even want to identified as a girl or anything remote, so how can we let this go with that excuse?"

Natalie laughs, concealing her growing smile with a hand. "Honey, she's still a girl!" She says. "Just because she prefers basketball to ballet doesn't mean her body suddenly changed male, as well as her hormones and feminine attitude."

"That'd be scary."

"Exactly." She confirms, relaxing into him. "Andrew, she has her brother as her best friend. She's gonna be a bit boyish."

"Just one of the boys." He sighs, sending a smile to his only daughter. She makes a basket and the boys applaud her wildly. She dribbles the ball and throws at the basket again, which was adjusted to the shortest height so she could play.

"You'll still have your little girl, you big baby." Natalie teases, pushing his shoulder jokingly. He grabs her chin tenderly and kisses her softly. They break apart only when Caleb and Beatrice's cries of disgust can be heard, begging them to stop their vile act.

* * *

"Daddy! Daddy!" Beatrice's cries ring out cheerfully, the ball dribbling in front of her. "Come here, watch this!"

"That's my cue." Andrew whispers into his wife's ear jokingly. She climbs off his lap and offers him a hand, pulling him into standing position.

"Break a leg!" She calls after him as he heads to the court. She plops back into the law chair, eyes on her little family.

Andrew shoots a couple baskets with his daughter, Caleb usually snatching the ball out of his hands and dribbling away with laughter. He lifts Beatrice up for a slam dunk one time and almost pulls something in his back.

"I think it's time to retire." Caleb tells him, passing the ball to his sister.

"I think you're right, little man." He agrees, ruffling his son's dark hair.

"Dad!" He complains, flattening down his hair and Andrew smiles. "I'm eight! That's old."

Andrew nods with mock seriousness. "You're right." He says. "You're an old man now. That means you can start paying the bills!"

The boy looks frightened. "Uh, maybe next year." He tells her dad and then takes off, stealing the ball from his sister, despite her complaints.

The older man turns, shaking his head with a grin on his face, heading back to his wife and that oh-so comfortable lawn chair. It's like a throne, now that his legs are burning from the exercise that comes from playing basketball with a bunch of kids.

As he steps into the grass, looking into the eye's of his beautiful wife, who wears a big grin, he hears a shout come from a child on the court.

"Yo, _bitchhh_!"

He turns and finds a little boy with messy brown hair pointing at his daughter with tiny fingers. A woman's scream comes next:

"_Tobias Eaton!_"

* * *

_10 years ago_

_'Rawwwwrrrr...' _is the sound that snaps the child awake from the slumber of sweet dreams. The little girl's eyes automatically find the window lit with moonlight and a fainter '_rawrr_' can be heard again.

She scurries from her bed, kicking the green comfortable onto the dusty, wood floors, and goes to the window. She presses her small palms against the cool glass and balances on her tiptoes, peering into the front yard.

A small boy stands below her window, brown hair messy with the struggle of trying to fall asleep. Tiny, pale hands are cupped around his mouth. Rawring sounds cease when he notices her in the window. His brunette locks shine in the moonlight.

She glares out the window at him, unamused with his dinosaur show. The girl furrows her brow and purses her lips, the way they do it on those drama movies she's entertained by when baseball goes to commercials. The boy just smiles and waves up at her, unaware of her annoyance. 'Tris!' he mouths, pointing excitedly to her and then to the front of the house. He scoops something from the grass and rushes towards the front door. The little girl rolls her eyes, another thing learned from those shows, and sneaks her way to the front door as quiet as she can.

Once outside, she grumpily stomps her way to the Circle, taking a seat on the picnic table her and the boy graffited with their initials. The humid air surrounds her, as well as mosquitoes, and her frog pajamas soon become stuffy and suffocating.

When he takes a seat next to her on the creaky picnic table she begins to talk. "See, there's this thing people do, Tobias." She says to him, annoyed. "It's called sleeping."

"I am un-fam-illi-ar with that." He replies, testing out the big word in parts. His mother gives him a new word each day and he tries his best to use it.

She scoffs and he smiles, bumping his shoulder with hers lightly. "Look what I found." He holds out his cupped hands in front of her. When they open, a single bug lays in the middle of his palm. Her face brightens, as well as the bugs behind. She takes the bug carefully from his hand.

"A firefly." She confirms, staring in wonder at the little bug with his light-up booty. "I haven't seen these at all this summer!"

"That's 'cause you weren't looking hard enough." He tells her, looking down at the bug in her cupped hands. It crawls over her fingers, tickling her easily. It's wings open and it takes off, away from the duo.

She frowns as it flies further away, the light getting dimmer. Her hands fall into her lap with a sad disappointment. The bugs never stay with her long.

"Come on, Trissy." The boy grabs her hand and stands, dragging her with him. He runs into the middle of the Circle with her. "We'll catch some more, they're everywhere!"

She smiles at him and pulls him to her in a hug. When they separate, she takes off sprinting, darting through trees in search of the lightening bugs. Tobias trails after her, laughing the whole way.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Reviews and everything are amazing! Keep it up, babes**

**We are still in flashback mode, btw.**

**Sorry for any mistakes!**

**Enjoy lovelies ;)**

**-Scorpiius**

* * *

_One of the Boys: Chapter two_

_Eight years ago_

The world seems to get gloomier with every passing minute, reminding the eight year old of the old black and white movies Caleb enjoys. But, this isn't a movie. It won't have ending credits and a pretty boss soundtrack. No, this is life, where people leave and never come back. Beatrice has to keep reminding herself this.

Her tiny, child fingers run over the initials vandalizing the old picnic table. Rain falls down around her, plastering the black dress to her skinny body. Her hair hangs in wet and ratty tendrils framing her face. The tiny water drops feel like knives against her skin.

He takes a seat next to her, cautiously putting a small arm around her equally small shoulders, pulling her into his side. What was meant to be a comforting gesture makes her burst into tears.

Big tears with loud hiccups in between when she tries to catch her breath. She throws his arm off her and jumps up from the table. She begins to pace, pulling on strands of hair violently, crying getting louder.

He stays frozen on the bench, contemplating what to do. He's not skilled in handling crying girls, especially _her_. She never cries, not even a tear when she jumped out of a tree and completely shattered her ankle.

She lets out a shrieking wail and collapses to the muddy ground onto her knees. She doubles over, as if multiple daggers are penetrating her stomach, sobs racking her body like waves in the ocean during a storm.

Hesitantly, he lowers himself to his knees and pulls the little girl into his lap. Even at nine years old, the boy is much bigger than her. He leans against the table while she grips the collar of his black dress shirt.

It's like they have telepathy; they don't have to talk to know what the other is thinking. The presence of him surrounding her reminds her that he cares, that he understands how she feels, truly, without going through what she is.

He knows she doesn't want to go inside. _Can't _go inside. Where people give her promises of prayer, give their apologies and she, even so young, understands what is happening and she can't handle it.

He knows she can't go inside, where people gather with wine like they would at a party. He knows, so he stays with her, in the pouring rain. Just because he wants to, so she knows he cares.

Finally, her tears cease, and she looks up at him with a pale face and red eyes. "Thank you, Tobias."

He shrugs with a small, proud smile and opens his fist to her, showing her a furry, orange caterpillar in the palm of his hand. It scuttles in circles with its tiny legs. She looks at the bug and laughs a watery laugh, showing off an equally watery smile.

They watch the scurrying bug, maybe for minutes, maybe for hours, until the rain comes to a light sprinkle and her dad comes looking.

* * *

She twitches uncomfortably in the pew, her tights becoming a nuisance. Her father never allows her to wear pants, like her brother does, to church. 'Not lady-like' is what he usually reasons even though everyone knows there is nothing lady-like about her existence.

Her head lifts, blonde waves falling around her shoulders, as she surveys the people in pews, heads bowed in prayer. Her attention span can't handle minute long prayers.

She feels a hand squeezing her knee and she looks at Caleb's hand on her leg, signaling her to bow her head. She sighs and bows her head.

"Amen." The pastor ends and his Bible snaps shut with an echo.

"Amen." repeats everybody else and immediately the room begins to move as people struggle to get out the door first. Her family stays put, waiting for the room to empty before leaving so they don't have to endure the struggle of pushing through the crowd.

Caleb grips her hand when it's time to leave and she hops up on her feet, glad to be able to stand and stretch her legs. Her little, heeled shoes click on the marble flooring as the family slides out of the pew. Her father heads for the door but she heads in the opposite direction, towards the altar.

"Beatrice." Caleb mutters, tugging on her arm to get her back on track. Andrew, noticing the absence of his children behind him, turns. His little girl struggles to get to the front, pulling away from her brother.

"Let her go, Caleb." Father says in a tired voice and Caleb's grip disappears and she propels to the front, where the pastor stands watching curiously.

"Mr. Pastor, my name is Tris Prior." She says in her loud, confident voice. She curtsies low, her girly dress puffing out around her. She swats at the skirt, annoyed.

"Hello, Tris." The pastor smiles, kneeling in front of the child. "What can I help you with?"

"Does God love me?" Tris asks him with a quick voice. The pastor looks taken aback.

"Of course God loves you, God loves everyone." He promises her, brows still furrowed in confusion, "Why would you think differently?"

"He took my mommy away from me." She tells him sadly. "Did I do something wrong? Is God mad at me, is that why he took mommy?"

The two family members intake a breath and her father whimpers, eyes turning glassy. The man bows his head for a moment before looking up at Tris again, with sad, brown eyes. "No, sweetie. It's not your fault. You see, God has a plan for all of us. Your mommy must've finished God's plan for her and he needed her help up in heaven. "

She frowns, crossing her arms. "That's selfish!" Tris exclaims. "God took my mommy for himself! Daddy says not to be selfish, it's not good."

"You're daddy is right, it's not good to be selfish." The pastor agrees. "But, God bringing your mommy up to Heaven isn't a selfish act. That's part of his plan."

"What's his plan for me?" She asks, curious and skeptical.

"Only God knows that, sweetie." He says. "But, it's going to be good. He has a good plan for you. And, mommy can watch it all happen from Heaven, like your guardian angel."

"But, I want mommy to watch it happen from Earth! I want mommy with me!" Tris exclaims and Caleb reaches out to grip her hand, pulling her to him. The man opens his mouth and then closes it, not knowing how to reply. "I want my mommy!"

"It's time to go, Beatrice." Her father demands softly, his throat croaky with tears, grabbing her free hand. He thanks the preacher for his time and leads his kids out of the church, his little girl kicking and screaming the whole way.

* * *

_Four years ago_

"That's cheating!" Tris exclaims, pouncing on the 13 year old's back. "You just traveled. That's against the rules!"

The boy laughs and dribbles the ball closer to the hoop with one hand, the other hand holding the small girl in place on his back. "There's no rules in my kingdom."

She jumps off his back and steals the ball away from him, shooting into the hoop. She cheers when the ball swishes through the net and bounces to the concrete. Tobias pouts. "I win!" The girl declares proudly, picking up the ball again.

"Okay, so, new game." He says, swiping the ball from her hands quickly. She's surprised from the sudden burst of speed and he takes off for the hoop. "I get the ball because I'm older."

"Hey!" She calls, jogging over to him with a stubborn expression on her face. "That's not fair! I won the last game."

"Life's not fair." He sticks his tongue out at her. She gaps at his rude tone and looks down at the black concrete of the court. She begins to walk towards the Circle into the grass, the sound of the dribbling basketball fading behind her.

She takes a seat on the ground, the grass tickling her bare legs, and she looks at the caterpillar houses she and Tobias built the previous week. Only a few houses remain since the rain a few days ago knocked the sticks down. Most of the caterpillars got washed away.

She picks up the knocked down sticks and starts to re-build the little huts for their bug friends. He stands behind her, peering down at her work as her nimble fingers fit the twigs together. He drops the ball onto the grass and lowers himself beside her, their knees touching. "I'm sorry."

"Good." is all she says, trying her best to stand her ground and not give in to those big, blue eyes. She sets the first refurbished home near the others. Immediately, curious caterpillars slide up to the new structure. There are more caterpillars in the circle than there are mosquitoes, and there are a lot of mosquitoes.

"It's not my fault you're so stubborn." He says, anger and annoyance in his words. She knows his short temper.

She ignores him, saddened by his words. "You can't have everything, Tris." He tells her.

"You're so annoying!" She bursts, throwing the half-built house away from her in agitation. The caterpillars scurry into their huts.

"Well, at least I have a mom!" He retorts, furious and not thinking about the impact of his words.

She gaps, tears prickling her stormy eyes. She whips her eyes, trying to make the tears vanish. She's a warrior, she can't cry, but loosing a mother has been rough on her and her whole family. She's been getting better over the weeks, smiling and laughing more, like usual. Being young, it's easy to get distracted. Everybody, especially Tobias, steers clear of the subject of her mother's death, knowing the effect the word 'mom' has on her.

Beatrice scrambles to her feet and speed walks to her house, well-aware of Tobias trailing behind, trying to find the words to apologize with. Tears come anyways, despite her strong armor, and she's sobbing by the time she reaches her front yard.

"I'm sorry!" He calls after her, close to tears. "I didn't mean it."

"I hate you!" She screams at him. A bit dramatic, but his words opened a wound. "I hate you, Tobias. Leave me alone!"

And, following her commands, he does what she says. He leaves her alone.

* * *

_Two years ago_

The air is warm, the dew on the grass cool on her bare thighs, and he heart surges with new-found happiness and energy as he looks around the football field. The shoulder pads are heavy on her body, not fully muscle, and her helmet hair is forgotten because for once she's not looking at her dad's sad expression, or listening to her brother's lectures, or dreading her next class. No, she's on the football field, where she belongs, and she's completely and utterly giddy with joy. That is until a stupid boy opens his mouth...

"But, coach! Girls can't be on the team."

That breaks through everything as she glares at the boy who opened his dumb mouth. She's not usually a figure of intimidation; a five foot girl on the football team? What a joke. But, since she's mastered her bitchface, boys begin to back off.

The boy that talked cowers at her scowl, sitting back on the grass while the coach looks at him with a tinge of disappointment. "You should rethink your statement, Edwards." Coach Max's voice rings loudly. "We need as many good players as we can get, especially since you're no help."

The boys whoop and laugh as Edwards slouches, face red and his angry eyes find hers. She just smiles proudly and turns her attention back to the coach.

"Congratulations everyone for successfully completing tryouts for next year's high school team." The team cheers and the coach grins. "The paper, which will tell you who all made it, will be posted in the next month in the main hallway. Good job today, now go hit the showers."

The players break apart and head for the showers and she heads in the other directions for the girl's locker room. That is until somebody grabs the back of her shirt and pulls her back. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To the girl's showers, dummy." She says and turns to find her best friend, Will. She fist bumps him and they both smile. "I do have a vagina, ya' know."

"Hard to imagine." He teases and she rolls her eyes, switching her helmet from hand to hand.

"You could join me." She winks suggestively. "The cheerleaders are in there, too. So that means you-know-who is-"

He moves at the speed of lightening, grabbing her and pinning her back to his chest, his sweaty hand covering her mouth. "That's enough, Tris." A twinge of annoyance evident in his joking tone. She bites his palm lightly and he lets go just as fast as he grabbed her.

"Blech, you need a shower." She declares, gagging and rubbing at her tongue. She smacks his butt and they both walk to their separate showers.

She walks into the locker room, being ignored completely by the cheerleaders, which is way fine by her, as she grabs a pair of clean shorts and a shirt. And a less sweaty bra. She grabs her soap and walks into the showers, washing away all that sweat and grime.

Once out of the shower, she wraps herself in a ninja turtle beach towel, which is the towel she uses for her after-practice-showers. Her long, wet hair plasters obnoxiously to her back. She eats a cereal bar she found at the bottom of her lock while she waits for herself to sorta dry off, so she doesn't put on clothes soaking wet.

She begins to get dressed, putting on her underwear and clean shorts. She struggles with putting her sports bra on her slick body, but she succeeds.

"Hey, Tris!" A voice coos obnoxiously from behind her. She turns and, with a deep sigh, finds Molly Atwood. Cheer captain and a pain in the ass. "How was football practice."

"Peachy." She snaps with a sarcastic enthusiasm, throwing her wrapper in her locker.

"You look like you fit right in there." Molly tells her, gesturing at her body. Two of her little minions come up behind her and giggle. The rest of the squad laughs. All the cheerleaders wear the same matching shorts with their matching white tennis shoes and their stupid, matching hair bows in their high-as-skyscrapers ponytail.

"Same to you!" She exclaims with a big smile, gesturing, also, to the squad. "A bunch of talent-less sluts that shake their asses. You fit _right _in."

The locker room is filled with gasps, but she doesn't back down. Molly narrows her fire-filled eyes. "Oh yeah? All you do is throw a ball around. Talk about easy!"

"Easy?" Tris says with the tilt of her head, "I didn't realize we were talking about you.

Deja vu, the locker room fills with gasps and a few cheerleaders protest. She takes that as an opportunity to gather her stuff and escape.

She bursts out of the locker room and starts across the field, towards the parking lot, where her brother waits to take her home. Half way across the field, though, she's stopped by Will, jogging to catch up with her. "How was your shower?" He asks.

"Hot and steamy." She purrs jokingly. He pushes her shoulder and then pauses, turning to look at her.

"Where's your shirt?" He asks her, holding in a laugh.

"Huh?" Her expression confused. She looks down. Just a sports bra "Oh shit, sorry. I, uh, had to leave the locker room in a hurry-"

"Oops, never mind, Scott." A voice interrupts her. She turns towards the approaching person, really sick of human beings today. "Our team's not in jeopardy because that's no girl."

Edwards and another team mate high-fives, laughing together. She rolls her eyes, not even a bit offended. She gets jokes like that all the time, that actually is that fifth today.

"Haha." Will fake laughs with a blank voice and expression, making her give a giggle. "We're all awed by your incredible wit."

Edwards narrows his eyes and snarls, stepping closer to Tris. "If you get put on that team, I'll ruin you." He threatens. "I promise you that."

She reaches out with speed, gripping the collar of his shirt in her tiny fist and pulling him towards her, almost nose to nose. "I want you to threaten me one more time." She tells him in a low, scary voice. Her eyes turn dark. "See what happens."

His eyes turn wide and his face turns the color of his hair. She lets go and he stumbles away, running in the opposite direction with his little sidekick. Will looks at her with praises. "Nice."

"Thank you." She bows. "I try."

He smiles and looks behind them discreetly, watching the cheerleaders pool out of the locker room. "Listen..." He trails off, eyes glued to the cheerleaders. "I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, he takes off in a jog to the squad.

Tris shakes her head with a laugh, starting towards the parking lot again. The walk gives her mind a break, letting her think. At home, she has no time to think. She only has time to take care of her father, focus on her homework. Try not to look at the neighbor's house...

She begins to get agitated when she thinks about the things said to and about her. She should be used to it by now, she gets it almost every day. But, the words still bother her, get under her skin.

Her eyebrows are furrowed in anger, her eyes down on the gravel laid on the track, when she collides with someone.

She sprawls across the track, cutting her knees and hands on the tiny rocks, and her gear bag opens and spills, her helmet rolls to a stop a few feet away.

"Jesus Christ, I'm sorry, but you came out of nowhere." A male voice reasons, helping her to her feet. A few drops of blood roll down her legs from the scrapes on her knees and her hands sting.

The boy begins to collect her football gear, shoving the helmet in the bag and putting the bag gently on her shoulder, since she can't grab it herself.

He stands to face her and she intakes a short breath, finally noticing his attractiveness. Shiny dark hair, dark green eyes that shine like a gem in the sun. His smile is bright and white, making her melt.

_Jesus, get a grip, Beatrice Prior. _She tells herself, commanding herself to ignore the pain in her and forget his very attractive face. "Thank you." Tris tells him and begins to walk towards the parking lot, _again_. Caleb is probably wondering what the hold-up is. Probably starting to worry.

"Woah, woah." The guy says, smiling again. He stops her with a hand on her shoulder. He has to be about a year older, probably about 15 or 16. "I didn't get your name."

"Technically, I didn't give it." She snaps, uncomfortable with his hand touching her. She doesn't get a lot of physical contact from the opposite sex, unless she's tackling them. "And you didn't either." She starts to walk again.

"Peter Hayes." He offers. Again with that smile. The brightness is starting to hurt her eyes.

"Tris Prior."

He removes his hand, pleased with an answer. "Hopefully I'll see you again sometime." He winks and she has to walk away or she might collapse in front of him. When he's a ways behind her, she gives a deep sigh.

_Hopefully._

* * *

**A/N: This was almost 4k words, so I'm seriously hoping for a good number of reviews. **

**Btw, Edwards is Drew. Drew Edwards. **

**Anywayyssss... Tobias is done lol. Just waitt.**

**Okay, see you next time. sorry for any mistakes!**

**-Scorpiius**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh my god, hello guys! It's been, no joke, forever. I owe you guys a explanation. **

**I thought I was done with fanfiction. Despite sometimes reading it, I grew sick of writing, becoming more concerned with my art than my petty fanfictions. I've had bad experiences on here due to my old fanfiction account and some snooty bitch. I bet some of you know what I'm talking about. Anyways, so I made a new account and started my writings, but I grew tired and embarrassed because my boyfriend isn't thrilled with the idea of fanfiction and he doesn't know I write it. I've grown close to telling him, but he reacts badly to me even telling him I read it, so it's my little secret. I'll tell him someday, though. I thought I finally outgrew writing fanfiction, even though I was contemplating writing on Wattpad. I haven't outgrown it, though, because I'm here and ready to continue my writings for just a bit longer. I'd like to finish this story (I probably won't continue Consequences, my other story, though) and post a story that I've had an idea for for a while.**

**I'm back, bitches, but I don't know if it's for long. But, I promise to finish this story if I get good feedback. **

**So, here is the continuation, have fun;) and make sure to review!**

**-Scorpiius**

* * *

_One of the Boys: Chapter three_

_One year ago_

A peaceful morning in the Prior household is a rare thing.

Somebody is always rushing about, the oven is always left on, pages of homework flying randomly. With three teenagers living there, it's hard to keep things orderly.

But, today?

The only sounds are the sizzling of bacon on the stove, Caleb's book pages turning, and Mr. Prior's rustle of the morning newspaper. The only thing that's missing is the teenage daughter.

That's why it's so calm.

And then-

"Has anyone seen my good jeans!?"

The three males in the kitchen take in a breath, their silent morning ruined by the screeches of a panicked girl. Tobias moves the cooked bacon to a cold spot on the stove and begins to chop apples into slices and throw them into the blender. His morning 'power shake'. Even though it's summer and football season is over, he still needs his energy for lifting.

"They're in the basement!" Tobias replies loudly. Silence follows except for the sound of the knife cutting through the fruit.

"What're they doing in the basement?"

"I did laundry."

You can here Tris's snort of laughter as she ventures into the dark basement. Mr. Prior even gives a slight snicker around his coffee mug. Caleb stays silent, too immersed in his learning.

Tobias rolls his eyes and continues slicing fruit, slightly annoyed. Every since the Basketball Court Incident, that's what he calls it, there's been a fine layer of ice around Tris's heart when she interacts with him. It thaws for everyone else, though. If there's anything Tris is good at, it's holding a grudge.

She walks into the kitchen in her 'good jeans' and picks up an apple from his pile of fruit.

"Ew, what's that on your face?" Tobias sneers, putting protein powder into the blender.

Tris touches her face automatically and feels the gooey makeup she tried to apply. She's hurt, at first, but quickly retorts. "I would ask the same thing to you, but we all know it's just your nose."

He feels for his nose, giving her a genuine offended look. She feels no remorse.

"Kids." Mr. Prior sighs and the teenagers stop their banter.

Tobias hands her a plate of bacon, like every morning, but she waves it away and gnaws on her green apple. "No, thanks. I'm going vegetarian."

"What?" He asks with a laugh, still holding the plate out towards her. "Why?"

"I'd rather not eat animals." She reasons, wrinkling her nose at the plate. "Pigs are too cute to eat."

"You are what you eat." Tobias says and holds out the plate again.

Tris just gives a fake laugh, grabs a cup of black coffee, and heads back upstairs. "Don't bother me!" She yells to the men while heading up the stairs.

"What's up with her?" Tobias asks aloud when he hears her bedroom door slam shut upstairs.

"She's got a date." Mr. Prior tells him.

"What!?"

* * *

The ice cream parlor is as cold as a freezer and his goosebumps somehow grow bigger. He sits in a red leather booth in the back corner, newspaper up to hide his face. A cup of heavily sugared coffee sits on the table in front of him. He takes a sip despite the time of 8 o'clock at night, a time when nobody should be drinking coffee.

The bells on the door handle jingle as Tris and her date enter the parlor and Tobias hurriedly puts the newspaper up to shield his mouth and nose. A baseball cap hides his easily identifiable hair. He feels dirty spying on Tris's date, but he couldn't help himself when Mr. Prior told him earlier that Tris has had this boyfriend since the start of freshman year. Now it's summer and she hasn't ever mentioned it to him.

Not like she would, due to her hatred for him. Why would she share her love life with her enemy? He's not allowed to be angry at her for this. He can only be angry at himself for creating the void between them.

Tris giggles and the shiny-haired male directs her to a parlor table perfectly in Tobias's line of sight.

She wears her 'good jeans' from earlier with a _very _low-cut tank top, showing off the minimum curves she has. Tobias can't help but sneer at her choices. The Tris he knows (Or, at least, _thinks _he knows) would never degrade herself for a boy.

Tris may share little-to-nothing with Tobias, but when you practically live with someone for 10 years, you get to know them despite a resistance. Tobias has had a room next to Tris since he called her a bitch in the Circle during a cookout. Mr. Prior put a set of bunk beds in Caleb's room so Tobias could stop sleeping on the floor when they were in middle school. It's a rare occurrence when Tobias goes to sleep over in his own bedroom next door with his mother and her new husband.

Tris's giggles break him out of thoughts, mostly because the sound was so sharp and unusual he thought a bird got into the parlor. Tris _never _giggles, but that's the second time since she's arrived. Tobias already doesn't like this shiny guy.

Tris is a different kind of girl. She doesn't giggle, mostly because she thinks she sounds like a choking bird when she does. If she finds something funny, she either laughs her real, genuine laugh, or she stays silent. And if she finds something _really _funny, she snorts like a complete dweeb.

Tobias leans in closer to the table, trying to read their lips when a waitress on roller skates slides over. Usually she orders a huge ass banana split with extra cherries and chocolate sprinkles, but he's so far away from them, he can't tell what she's saying.

Tris says something to the waitress, but her date interrupts her, making her frown deeply. Lines around her mouth form. The boy turns to Tris and says something with a charming grin, making her smile tightly and say something to the waitress. Tris slumps in her seat as the waitress skates away and the boy still has a smirk on his face.

"Condescending little-" Tobias whispers to himself before-

"Sir, if you're not gonna buy somethin', I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." A mocha-skinned waitress tells him and he turns to face her, knocked out of his raged trance.

"Uh, right, yeah." He says, glancing back at the couple. "Uh, a banana split please? With extra cherries and chocolate sprinkles. Can I get that to go?"

* * *

Tobias waits for two hours in the dark kitchen for Tris to get home from her date.

Headlights illuminate the kitchen through the bay window and then disappear when the front door closes quietly and the lock clicks. Small foot steps head into the kitchen.

"Tobias?" Tris whispers, noticing him seated stiffly at the island. "Hey, what're you doing up?"

He looks at the stove's clock. 11:47 glows back at him with green numbers. "You're late."

"By seven minutes." She laughs and opens the fridge. She freezes when she sees the banana split sitting on a shelf. "What the-" She turns to him, the yellow fridge light glowing behind her. Her face is red with anger as she puts the pieces together.

"I got you your favorite-"

"Were you fucking _spying_ on me?" She whispers harshly.

"I figured you'd be hungry, considering your date wouldn't let you have anything but a Coke."

"_How dare you?_" She sneers, slamming the fridge shut. "You just don't know when to stop, Tobias. That's your problem. You think you have to make everything _your business. _News flash, buddy! Not everything revolves around you."

She stomps from the kitchen, leaving him there to process her cruel words that he rightfully deserves, but she sticks her head back into the kitchen for final words. "For your information, I only wanted a Coke. I would never let a man dictate me. Everything I do is my decision."

* * *

As summer passes, Tris's sophomore year arrives and Tobias enters junior year.

The two co-captains stand side-by-side on the football field, looking at the team. "Last year was pitiful." Tris determines aloud. "And while the cause of that might've been because you had a lame captain-" She looks at Tobias with pure hatred. "I'm here to fix the problems."

The team stays silent and Tobias doesn't retort, but his cheeks turn red. He can never seem to stop adding to the list of things he does to upset Tris; Spying on her date, ruining her 'good jeans' by accidentally adding them to the whites, using all the toothpaste. She sure is good at reminding him.

"I'm adding a new game plan that I expect you all to follow, or else the consequences could mean the bench." Tris tells them. "Hopefully you all are excited to win this year because that will make this easier. Now, a new game plan means new warm ups, so let's start with the laps."

The team groans when Tris turns and starts jogging to the track, but she stops and turns to give them a death glare. They shut their mouths and follow, Tobias sprints to catch up to his co-captain.

"So, partner, what's the plan this year." He asks in a friendly tone, trying to be heard over the stomping of running feet behind them. Co-captains are always the head of the pack.

"The plan is for you to shut up and do your laps." She replies, already breathless despite the slow jogging pace. She slows even more, almost to a walk and the team slows with her. Mumbles of confusion rise from the team as one of their leaders slow, when she usually pushes them to go faster each lap.

"Looks like someone's out of shape." Someone announces from the pack. Snickers follow.

Tris stops completely and bends over, putting her hands on her knees, her breathing shallow. "Tris, are you all right?" Tobias asks her, putting a hand lightly on her shaking shoulder.

"I'm fine." She retorts, jerking away from his hand. She stands up straight, shakes her long hair out, and begins to jog at a faster pace this time.

The finish one full lap in silence, except for the shallow breathing of Tris. He almost stops her after the first, but she jogs faster and refuses to stop, so he lets her run.

She completely stops in the middle of the third lap and her body wavers a little then goes stiff before she collapses to the track, pebbles digging sharply into her cheek.

"Tris!" Tobias shouts, rushing to her side and lifting her off the ground so the pebbles don't draw scrape her up too bad. He notices her cheek is cut and bleeding and her left calf, too. "Someone call for help." The team looks stunned, starring down at their fallen leader. "Now!"

Will gets out his phone and dials something, presumably an ambulance.

"Fuck, Tris." Tobias swears, poking her cheek to try to wake her up. "God. You'll be fine."

* * *

The hospital room is poorly lit, making her yellow skin look greener. She's hooked up to tubes with needles and other things that make her want to faint all over again.

Mr. Prior sits by her bedside in a hard chair, holding her shaky hand. His face is buried in the hospital sheets. Caleb sits on her other side, telling her about his college's campus and how beautiful the buildings are. He flew all the way from Duke in North Carolina when he found out Tris was in the hospital.

She was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa.

She had been on a strict diet of fruit and veggies, a minimum amount at that, for about two years now. Her vegetarianism was just to hid the disorder, saying she wanted to eat healthier, but really just got skinnier.

Tobias stands in the doorway of the hospital room, a bouquet of an assortment of flowers in his hand. Tris is too immersed in the story Caleb is telling to notice him, or maybe she's just ignoring him on purpose. It's still hard to tell.

He still blames himself for her disorder. Out of everyone in the house, he's always been the one to know the most because he's always around her. At school, on the field, at home. It didn't become so evident until they found out the diagnosis that Tris was losing major weight. He should have become suspicious when he noticed the harsh lines of her ribs when they went swimming, or how she refused anything fattening to eat. How her skin sometimes looked like egg yolk or sometimes like flour. He should have figured it out the day she collapsed and everything went down hill. Her shallow breathing even during a light jog, her shaky arms during push ups.

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Mr. Prior told him when she first arrived at the hospital, buried under fluids and needles. He saw the look in Tobias's eyes. "You couldn't have known."

"But I should've."

"She's good at hiding things."

Tobias just nodded, eyes trained on the little figure in the hospital bed.

"I think me and dad are gonna go get some coffee." Caleb informs Tris, standing up for his chair and stretching. He drops the hand he was holding and gently puts it back on the bed. "Dad?"

Mr. Prior jerks his head up from the bed, his eyes pink and swollen. "Right. Right." He repeats and gets up from his chair, too. He leads the way out the door, Caleb follows. Mr. Prior's face is white and he passes Tobias like a ghost, but Caleb gives him an encouraging smile. Tobias takes a deep breath and takes Caleb's chair.

Tris looks at him with dead eyes as he places the flowers next to a vase of yellow roses from Will. He doesn't know what to say and he doesn't grab her hand like Caleb and her father did. He just sits there and looks at her glossy eyes. Her cheek bones are prominent dark graves on her face.

"You really gave us a scare." Tobias starts. She doesn't reply. He wonders if she can really even hear him, or if she understands. She's pretty dead to the world, has been for weeks. She hasn't said a word to anyone since she got here.

"I'm really sorry, Tris." He tells her, placing his chin in his hands and resting them on his knees. He looks down at the tiled floor because he can't stand to see her blank expression. "I know you probably don't even want to see me, I mean, I wouldn't want to see me either. I know this is my fault, I should've helped you when I noticed and I shouldn't have spied on your date or ruined your 'good jeans'. I know you hate me, I would hate me too, but I really hope you understand how sorry I am that I let this happen to you." His voice cracks.

He jerks out of the chair and goes to stand closer to the wall. Her eyes follow his movements. "I hope you'll forgive me one day. Maybe even let me take you out for a banana split sometime. I owe you that." He gives a croaky laugh and walk towards the door hurriedly, feeling claustrophobic in the cramped room.

"Thank you." She whispers and he turns around towards the voice.

"What?"

"Thank you." She says again in a scratchy voice, almost like it hurts to talk. "For the flowers."

"Oh, um." He breathes out loudly, gives a little laugh and a smile. "Yeah, anytime."

A small achievement is still an achievement

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**A/N: Taadaaaa!**

**Finished and over 2k, probably 3k. You're welcome and I expect some good reviews please!:)**

**I know it's a little depressing now, but this ends the flashback segment and next chapter we get into the fun stuff;)**

**I hope you're as excited as I am**

**Sorry for any mistakes!**

**Glad to be back;)**

**-Scorpiius **


	4. Chapter 4

_One of the Boys: Chapter Four_

_Junior Year _

Lightning strikes through the gloomy sky making the kitchen lights in the Prior house twitch. Thunder rumbles, but the twos' laughs are so loud the growl goes unnoticed.

"No, dad you can't put sprinkles on the burnt cookies." Tris laughs as Mr. Prior mutters a reply and continues to dust the black cookies with blue sprinkles.

"It'll make them edible." He reasons and she bursts into laughter, bending over to catch her breath. Then she looks at the wrinkled, nasty cookies and begins to laugh again, her father joining in.

"Hey, what's going on?" A male voice calls out and footsteps travel towards the kitchen. Tobias stands in the doorway, looking at his two 'family members' covered in flour, surrounded by burnt cookies. "Why does it smell?"

Then the smoke alarm in the kitchen goes off and Tris runs to oven and gets the second batch of cookies out. "Dad, we burned another batch!"

Mr. Prior is too busy fanning the smoke away with a cookie sheet, still covered with cut-outs, to hear her. The cookie dough splats onto the kitchen island.

"Okay, well, I'll leave you guys to it." Tobias says awkwardly, looking at the messy kitchen. Tris looks up at him with narrowed eyes, but he just grins when he sees the big splotch of flour smeared on her forehead. He heads towards the front door. "I won't be home till late." Mr. Prior yells a goodbye. The door opens then closes with a bang.

"Where's he going?" Tris asks her father, scraping the bad cookies from the cookie sheet and into the trash can.

"Nita's house." Mr. Prior says and then nibbles on a cookie. He automatically spits it into the sink.

"That's still happening?" She says, one part curious, one part surprised, and bit jealous.

"Yeah," He confirms. "They're having sex"

Tris chokes on her spit. She doubles over coughing, gripping the counter to keep her from collapsing. "How do you know?"

"I can tell when you kids are having sex." Mr. Prior tells her with a sly grin. He ruffles her blonde hair with his flour-covered hands. "Good thing you're a virgin, or else you'd be grounded till college."

She almost chokes again. "Why don't you ground _him_?" She exclaims, pointing in the direction of the front door.

"Technically, he's not my kid to ground." Her father reminds her. "Though, I bet he would listen to me if I did."

Tris doesn't say anything, she just narrows her eyes at her dad. He gives her an exasperated look.

"I seriously doubt that women cares about what Tobias does." He points out the kitchen window at the blue house next to them. "She only has custody because the father is a bigger asshole than she is."

She raises her eyebrows but says nothing, continuing to scrape the sheets.

"So, when am I gonna meet this girl?" Tris asks, changing the subject so the mood would lighten. "I mean, he's practically my brother."

* * *

Tris breathes in and out deeply, legs crossed, trying to clear her mind. Then she begins to think about her date in 20 minutes and her breathing quickens.

"Can you try to _not _have a panic attack right now?" Her best friend says from besides her on her bed. The pages of his comic book crinkle.

"I gained ten pounds." Tris whispers to him, shifting on the bed so she could clutch her knees to her chest. Tears threaten to leak out of her stormy eyes.

"That's good!" Will tells her, sitting up and hugging her to his chest.

She jerks away and gets out of the bed and starts to pace the small space of her room. "No!" Tris exclaims, her eyes chaotic. "This is _very bad_."

"How is that bad, Tris?" He asks, sitting up on his knees. "You've been in the hospital all summer for... you know." He clears his throat. "This is an achievement!"

Tris swivels on the balls of her feet to look at him. It's a blank stare, the one she perfected in the hospital to show people she wasn't in a conversing mood. It sends a chill through her best friend, making goosebumps rise on his arms. "You don't get it." Tris seethes. "You don't _understand_. He'll hate this."

Sometimes, Will wishes he could read minds. Especially at times like this, where Tris acts like everything is a deadly secret. She's not very good at expressing her feelings. "Can you please explain to me what is happening?"

She then bursts into tears. Extremely loud tears that could probably cause an earthquake. "H-he's gonna break up with me!" She sobs, clutching her stomach and collapsing to the floor. "I'm too fat for him! I'm not good enough."

Will is frozen on her bed. He's not skilled in the category of crying females. He crawls off the bed and over to her, pulling her into his chest. Despite how close and comfortable the two are with each other, they've never felt any romantic attraction towards each other. "Tris," He whispers into her hair. She shakes in his arms. "If think Peter would break up with you for your looks, than you're more naive than I thought. And, if he does break up with you for said reason, he's a bigger idiot than I thought."

She sniffles and turns her head to look at him. "I guess I'm a naive little girl then." Tears stream out of her eyes when she clenches them shut. "You don't know how he is."

Tris wipes away the falling tears and stands up, letting Will's hold fall away. She scrubs her face and her eyes harden like they usually do. Will stares at her when she walks to her closet. The short moment of vulnerability gone. "Jeans and t-shirt?" She asks, pulling the articles out. Her face shows nothing of what just happened.

* * *

When the sun starts to set on the California horizon, Peter arrives at the Prior household. Stone-faced and stiff, he clasps his hands in front of him. Then he unclasps and knocks on the door for the second time but with more force. He doesn't like to be kept waiting.

The door swings open and a tight-lipped smile replaces his annoyed frown when he sees his girlfriend. He frowns again, though, when he notices what she's wearing. Jeans. Big, white t-shirt, probably her brothers. Her face is bare. He tries not to roll his eyes.

"Hi!" She greets and walks out onto the porch. "Bye dad, I'll see you after your poker game!" She slams the door shut and looks up at Peter with a bright smile.

He doesn't return it. "That's what you're wearing?" He asks, a condescending tone slurring in there. She notices his dress shirt and perfectly pressed black pants.

She shrinks, her sight falls to the ground. She curses the sneakers on her feet. "I, uh, I didn't know what we were doing. So I decided to dress casually."

"Is your definition of casual looking like you just climbed out of the garbage?" He asks her seriously. She says nothing. "Come on, you don't have time to change." He grabs her arm roughly and leads her to the car.

* * *

The restaurant is posh and the patrons even more elegant. Tris feels embarrassed to be seated in a velvet, red chair in old jeans and her brother's shirt. It feels like a venomous snake is coiling in her stomach and every time a person close to them laughs, she feels as if it's directed towards her and her attire. She cowers in her seat while Peter ignores her, observing the menu.

A waiter in a sleek tux stands in front of the circular table, awaiting the orders. Peter slaps the menu closed and orders something in a language Tris doesn't understand. She only hears the word 'duck'.

The man looks at her. "Uh, can I get shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo, pleas-"

"She'll have the Caesar salad." Peter interjects and Tris looks at him with an open mouth. You'd think after being in the hospital for three months during the summer would make a boyfriend more considerate.

"No, I think I just said I'll have Fettuccine." Tris shoots and gives a look to the waiter, who seems torn on what to do.

"I'm paying the bill, therefore you'll eat what I order." He replies and nods at the waiter. The man scurries away before an argument breaks out in front of him.

Tris grabs her glass of water and takes a sip, trying to ease her anger. She refuses to make a scene in a fancy restaurant like this, but she also cannot stand to be treated as if she's below him. Having a relationship means you're equal. It shouldn't be a dictatorship.

"You've gained weight." He informs her, as if she didn't already know. It's not an insurmountable change, you could still see her ribs. She hated the way she looked when she stood in front of the mirror. She misses the curves she used to have and the muscles she got from football. Now it's just bones. She misses the little fat she was able to acquire.

"Considering I've been in the hospital due to starving myself," She whispers harshly and looks at the tables next to her. "I think that's a good thing."

Peter gives her a contemptuous glare, daring to be challenged. "You'll look the way I want you to look." He informs her. "And if I want you to be skinny, then you better work to get skinny."

Her face is red with anger and she feels electric, like nobody can touch her. "If you want somebody skinny, go date a skeleton." She fumes. She jerks out of her chair and it falls on the ground with a loud thud. The customers around them stare like it's a new hit reality show. "Condescending bastard."

And she walks away with a new empowerment, like she's a queen. She lifts her head high, ignoring the people gaping and the shouts from her date, and walks out the door like nothing can stop her.

* * *

She walks down the city streets, still seething and shaking. Her arms are covered in goosebumps and she rubs her hands over them wildly. She stomps on angrily.

Tris collapses on a bench in front of a coffee shop and breathes, watching the traffic move slowly down the street. That's when she realizes she has no way of getting home. Peter was her ride and she has no money to ride the bus. She groans and pulls her phone from her back pocket.

She thinks. Her dad is probably still out with the guys for their Saturday Night Poker, Caleb is out in North Carolina for college, Will doesn't even have a license. She groans, knowing who she has to call for a ride home.

He picks up the phone with a swear and grumbles sleepily. She cringes, knowing that she'll have to owe him something later. She'll have to do his laundry for a few weeks.

"Hey." She greets. "I, uh, need a ride."

* * *

Tris notices the pajama bottoms first when she climbs into his car. Frogs. "Nice jammies." She can't help teasing him.

"Shut the hell up." He groans, hitting the gas and dangerously pulling out in front of a car. Horns honk. "I was sleeping when you called."

She says nothing, just stares out the window at the shops. The cars slows and Tobias slaps the steering wheel and collapses back into his seat. The worst thing about Cali is that everybody drives like they just got a permit. "So, where's Prince Charming?" He asks patronizingly. "Did his carriage break-"

"I walked out on him." Is all Tris gives. She continues to look out the window. She can feel his stare.

"I wanna congratulate you, but I feel like that would be rude."

She scoffs and turns to look at him. "Is anything you say _not _rude?"

He gives her a mild glare. "What happened."

She shrugs and turns away. "He tried to order for me, so I walked out on him."

"Oh, come on!" Tobias pleads. "When you blow up, you blow up big. What really happened."

"I, uh," She sighs, closing her eyes and resting her head on the headrest. "I said if he wanted someone skinny to date a skeleton and then I called him a condescending bastard."

He bursts into laughter and moves the car forward a bit. "That's beautiful, Tris."

She sniffles discreetly. "He's gonna break up with me." She whispers.

"Hasta la vista, baby."

"Tobias, stop." Tris says. "It's not funny."

"Really? 'Cause I think it's pretty hilarious." He chuckles and she shakes her head.

Tris pushes her door open forcefully and climbs out of the car moving like a snail. She gets on the sidewalk and begins to walk away.

"Tris!" Tobias shouts and moves the car up. He honks, though it does nothing to the traffic. "Tris, are you fucking _kidding me_? Get back in the goddamn car!"

"Fuck you!" She yells back and flashes him the finger.

"Tris, I'm sorry! I'll stop, just get back in the car! Please?" He pleads and she stops, turning to look at him with a death glare. "Come on, I'm in frog pajamas! I got out of bed and came to get you in frog pajamas, so please get in the fucking car!"

She sighs and stomps to the car and climbs in again. She slams the door shut but ignores him. The door's lock clicks shut.

"Feel better now?" He asks, his wildly beating heart starts to calm. Mr. Prior would've never forgiven him if he let Tris walk in the city alone. "Your little act of rebellion make you feel better?"

"Just shut the fuck up."

"Oh, somebody's swearing excessively tonight."

"You said you'd stop!" She cries and he gulps, shutting his mouth out of guilt. "Just shut up! I'm not in the mood."

The car is silent until he speaks again. "Sorry."

"Do you know what 'shut up' means?"

"Sorry." He whispers again and goes quiet.

The car ride stays silent for the hour it takes to get home in the late night city traffic. Tris is asleep by the time he pulls into the driveway. He turns the car off, gets out and lifts her into his arms and carries her inside.

He lays the sleeping girl on her bed and can't help but feel joyous at the thought of Tris being single. Too bad she hates his guts.

He turns off her light and walks to his own room, smiling a bittersweet smile. How he wishes things could go back to the things they were.

Growing up sucks.

* * *

**A/N: You guys are so fucking amazing, I love you all so goddamn much. SO Much I'M SweARing.**

**The reviews are great and I love all the good comments I get about this story:)**

**I think the thing I missed the most about fanfiction when I left for a while was the support and wonderful reviews I got from all of you. :) **

**This chapter was supposed have the break up scene, but this chapter became longer than I expected it to be.**

**And now you know what an ass I made Peter to be!:)**

**Fun things to come!:)**

**I'm excited, are you excited?**

**Sorry for any mistakes and make sure to review! **

**Love you all and I'll see you soon:)**

**Btw I got a lot of comments about this, but this is NOT a PeTris story. Yuck.**

**-Scorpiius **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! Quick a/n.**

**A lot of you think that Tris broke up with Peter and while it did seem like a pretty big break-up scene, she did not break up with him. That would defeat the purpose of the plot of this story. Don't worry though, the heart breaking is in this chapter and then the good stuff will get going:)**

**I've got big, exciting plans**

**Also, I posted a new story! Cause I'm an idiot. It's 'The Last Summer' and it's about Tris fulfilling a bucket list before she moves across the country. So, go check that out**

**Love you guys!**

**-Scorpiius**

* * *

_One of the Boys: Chapter Five_

"Ya' know, us guys don't do yoga." Tobias tells her, leaning against the metal fence on the edge of the field. You can her the water fountains splash. Tris breathes deeply and bends over, pressing her forehead against her legs.

He tries not to stare...

But fails.

"You guys also don't _do_ girls." She points out, standing back up slowly. "But both are bound to happen at some point. Get stretchin', Eaton."

He grumbles and stomps to the team huddled a ways behind Tris. Tobias barks out the order and the guys form lines beside and behind her. She moves slowly, knowing the guys can hardly keep up. "Yoga improves flexibility, builds muscles, protects from injuries," She informs the team loudly. "and, helps athletic performance, god knows you guys need that." The team groans.

The Sunday morning practices are always the best. The Cali air is cooler and the sun rises brilliantly during warm ups. Tris breathes through her nose, out her mouth and tries to relax. She stretches and lets the pain burn while she begins to enjoy the stretching. That is, until something smacks her butt and sends her flying into the muddy field.

She doesn't even have to turn away to know the culprit.

"Eaton," She spits, getting out of the sludge. She wipes a slab of mud of her cheek and glares at her team, stopping the growing snickers. She puts on a bitter, patronizing smile directed towards Tobias. "I'd like to speak to you. As for the rest of you-" She surveys the rambunctious group of boys. "Laps. Now."

They whoop happily, glad to get out of morning yoga, and take off for the track.

Tobias stands before her, puppy dog eyes into play.

"Still don't know how a girl made team captain." Eaton whistles, trudging over to Tris through the wet grass. Last year they were co-captains, but once Coach Max saw the tension between them, the team took a vote and made Tobias second-in-command. Most of them are just afraid of Tris. They need her for her intelligent game plans, too.

She inhales deeply, whiffing the smell of morning dew that is oh-so relaxing so she doesn't back-hand him.

"It's because said girl is better than you." She retorts, stripping off the muddy shirt to just a sports bra. "Pull another stunt like that and I'll have you doing warm-ups with a broken leg. Yoga included."

The corners of his mouth twitch, his eyes observe her exposed torso indiscreetly.

"Go join your team mates." She commands him and he salutes before jogging to the track. She screams after him. "You're on dish duty tonight, young man!"

* * *

The wood of her porch's bench cuts into her bare thighs, leaving harsh, red marks. Her knee fidgets nervously, knocking into her other one, and her index finger plays with a blonde curl. The main reason Tris was so good with her recovery was because she didn't want her hair to fall out, which is a symptom of Anorexia.

The setting sun's golden rays shine into her eyes and she puts a hand up to cover her eyes while checking the time on her phone. She sighs, her lips blowing a raspberry. He's late.

Imagine her surprise when Peter called an hour earlier, pleading to see her. He's not one to beg, so she agreed to see him to see why he was acting so innocent. They are still dating, after all. Probably not for long though. She didn't break it off on their last date, but she did walk out on him, making him angrily seething.

She knows what to expect.

His sleek, black car rushes into the driveway and purrs. It continues to run even though he gets out and walks up to the porch.

She looks up at him with wide eyes. He looks like a God, with the sun shining behind him and surrounding him with a golden halo of light.

"Tris."

"Peter."

He takes a timid seat next to her on the bench. She looks at him. Nothing he ever does is timid. Maybe he does have feelings after all.

Uh, no.

"I'm breaking up with you."

She knew it was coming, she _knew_ it, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. It feels as if the air has been stolen from her lungs. She doesn't say anything, she just looks at her bare feet.

"Well," Peter drags. She looks at him with narrowed eyes. "What, no crying?"

"Are you serious?" Tris asks quietly, looking up at him with eyes as dry as the desert.

"Can you blame me?" He asks. She stares blankly. "I'm a prize that is hard to lose."

She nods sarcastically, lips pursed, eyebrows raised.

He moves like lightning. Grabbing her hands in his and turning to face her, he gives her a puppy look. "I'm sorry, Tris." He apologizes. She can't stand the permanent smirk that is plastered on his face. "We're just so different."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"I mean, you play football and you wear your brother's t-shirts on dates-" He stops and shakes his head. "What I'm trying to say is that dating you is like dating a guy with really long hair."

She automatically jerks her hands out of his and touches her hair.

"It's just impossible for us to be perfect together." He reasons. "I need a _hot _girlfriend. Not a little boy."

She wrenches herself from the bench like it's on fire and Peter stands up with her, stepping closer. He offers an apologetic smile. She wants to puke. "Are we good? No hard feelings?"

She backs up into the brick wall of her house and her mouth opens and closes like a hungry fish. She tries to find words but instead feels her hand form a fist and then it's flying at his nose.

"I may not be the prettiest, or smartest, or funniest," She seethes, shouting the words at him while he backs away from her. He clutches his nose that's dripping red. Drops stain the porch's cement. "But at least I don't pretend to be someone I'm not."

He stares down at the tiny girl who's red in the face with anger. His hands are stained red. _"__Get the fuck off my porch!" _She screams at him, her voice as shrill as a bird's. He looks at her as if she's an ax murderer ready to kill and he scurries off the porch and into his running car. "I hope you ruin your fancy ass car with y-your bloody nose! Fucking bitch!" She screams at the retreating car. A dog barks madly in the distance.

She collapses against the front door in tears. She told herself she wouldn't cry for that asshole, but everything hurts. He's a douche, but he was her first love. It still fucking hurts.

She's lying on her side, the rough cement of the porch scraping against any bare skin, when the front door opens.

She doesn't know how long she laid on the ground, sobbing hysterically.

"Come on, now." A voice grumbles, annoyed. Tris's body gets flipped onto her back and another sob bubbles from her mouth. "Oh, shut up."

She's lifted into strong arms and she curls into them, trembling. She's too exhausted to even care who's holding her, as long as someone is.

The world rocks around her as she sways in this person's arms, but soon enough, the moving stops and she's lying on something soft. It feels way better than the cement.

"Tobias?" She croaks quietly as a door squeaks. "Is it my fault?"

A body lays beside her and she blinks away her tears and Tobias comes into focus. They're almost nose-to-nose. He doesn't say anything.

"Is it my fault he left me?" She asks. "Am I too boyish? Am I not pretty enough for someone like him?"

"Tris, shut up. You sound like an idiot." He tells her and she laughs a bit. A croaky laugh that makes her sound like she's choking. "People will leave you but that doesn't mean it's your fault."

She gives a tiny smile, just the upward twitch of the corners of her mouth, but it's something.

"He's an asshole, anyways."

She rolls her eyes and silent tears pour out, sliding down her cheeks like children sledding down a hill during the winter. Her breath hitches every time she breathes in, but she gulps and silences herself.

That's when Tobias gets out of her bed and grabs her hand. He pulls, she resists, but, eventually, he scoops her up in his arms and carries her to the living room.

He plops her on the couch and she coughs, then laughs. He turns on the blu-ray on the TV. He sits on the edge of the couch and her body curls around him.

He pulls up a music app and plays the shittiest pop music possible.

He sprints up stairs and back downstairs in record time and presents Tris with a pair of fuzzy pink socks. He puts his own green pair on.

Tobias has to beg her to get off the couch and come dance. She has the look of disdain for the first few minutes, but when he starts doing a weird hand jive, she loosens up and copies his moves, closing her eyes and laughing with her head thrown back.

She remembers those days as a child when she would scrape her elbow or get stung by a bee and her mother would turn on the latest pop hits and hand her a pair of fuzzy socks to stop her tears. Tobias would be there, too, dancing with them. Mrs. Prior treated him like her own child, her other son. She loved him like she did her own children.

He's playing the 'mom card' tonight.

They dance for hours, screaming along to the songs they know. They make a mess of the entire living area, the pillows thrown everywhere and a lamp got knocked over at some point. Tobias grips her hand and turns her around in a circle while they yell along to the blaring Miley Cyrus.

They hardly hear the doorbell ring over their pandemonium.

The two answer the door together, still laughing and smiling, but Tris almost faints when she finds a police officer on the other side of the door. "Prior residence?" He asks, like he doesn't know. "There has been a noise complaint. I'm gonna need you to keep it down, please."

"Yes, office." Tris says, her voice shaking and Tobias bursts into laughter next to her. She elbows him roughly in the ribs. He coughs. "Thankyouforyourtime" She says quickly and closes the door in his face. Tobias wipes a fake tear from his and laughs at her, she gives an embarrassed smile.

"You looked like you were gonna pee your pants." Tobias cackles and Tris punches him in the shoulder as hard as she can. Which is hard. He shrieks and grabs his wounded area. She looks at her with a mock glare and evil eyes. "You've done it this time."

He chases her back to the living room, her screams getting lost in the still blaring music. Despite what the police officer just said, nobody does a thing about the music.

Tobias attacks her with a pillow and she can't stop laughing at how good it feels to be acting like a child again, with her ex-bestfriend for god's sake. She hits him back equally hard with her own pillow.

They only stop when the front door swings open and Mr. Prior walks into his chaotic household. The two teenagers stop pillow fighting and Tobias quickly grabs for the remote to mute the music.

Then, Mr. Prior as the question nobody wants to explain. "Why is there blood on the front porch?"

* * *

**A/N: Hello hello hello!**

**THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEW GAWD YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING AMAZING LOVE YOU ALL OMG**

**anyways, sorry for any mistakes and you're welcome for updating so soon!**

**See ya' later;)**

**Oh, and go check out that new story! 'The Last Summer'**

**-Scorpiius **


	6. Chapter 6

_One of the Boys: Chapter Six_

One of the worst things in life is a cold shower when all you want is hot water to run over your sore-ass body.

Tris scrubs grumpily at the dried mud that's latched onto her thigh. Cold water soaks her naked body, chilling her to the bone, and a fleck of soap gets in her eye, adding to her bad mood. That's the last time Tobias gets a shower before her.

She hears the bathroom door swing open and she automatically drops the soapy loofah and covers her chest with her arms, even though the person who entered the bathroom can't see through the black shower curtain. "Ocupado!" She exclaims and a deep, very _male _chuckle rings out over the sound of the showers stream. She hears the toilet seat open with a bang and then-

"Tobias, are you _fucking_ kidding me?" Tris yells over the shower. He laughs loudly, a zipper sounds, and then the toilet flushes.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go."

The faucet turns on.

She raises an eyebrow at his newfound use of hygiene. He almost _never _washes his hand. The hand soap on the counter is rarely used by the men in this house. Disgusting.

Then a bucket full of water,- she'll be taking the bucket that holds the cleaning supplies out from under the bathroom sink- colder than the water from the shower, actually, is dumped upon her and she screams the highest-pitched scream she has ever used. One that would be used in horror movies where the naive teenage girl is stabbed to death with a butcher's knife. "_Fuuuckk, Tobias!" _She yells and then blushes, imagining what her dad must think of her screaming out Tobias's name during her after-practice shower, knowing he waltzed into the bathroom with her in it. Oops.

"Mmm, louder, baby!" Tobias gives a faux moan and then bursts into laughter. A knock sounds on the bathroom door.

"Is, uh, everything okay in there?" Mr. Prior asks from the other side of the door, awkwardness and apprehension in his voice.

Her theory is confirmed. That, somehow, doesn't make her feel better.

"Get the fuck out, Tobias!" She demands, slightly shivering.

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Tobias concedes with a large, melodramatic sigh. The door opens and she almost sighs in relief, knowing he's gone, but he speaks again. "I hope that makes your shower _hot_." She can picturing him winking at the shower curtain.

"Go!"

* * *

The chattering sounds of the mall surrounds them as they sit at a sticky table in the middle of the food court. She sips a fruit smoothie and passes it to him.

He swallows a gulp of smoothie and looks at all the passing people, but never focusing on a particular person. Just surveying. "How are you? Really."

Tris looks at him like the question surprises her. She grabs the smoothie back and contemplates her answer. "I'm all right."

Will rolls his eyes, not believing it for a second. He knows that the tiny heart in her tiny body is broken beyond repair. She's gone through a lot, Tris has. Her mother leaving the world, and her, at such an early age, when her childhood wasn't even finish. Losing her childhood best friend and him transitioning into a major jackass, while, also, sleeping in a room right next to her. Now, add the two-year-boyfriend breakup and you got yourself a broken hurt.

The best thing about Will and Tris's relationship is that she doesn't have to share much out loud for him to get it. And, he gets how much she was, still is, attached to Peter, despite his idiocy. You can't beat a strong attraction. He knows how easy it is to be attracted to someone who will never be interested.

"I think I'll be fine." Tris tells him, looking off into the crowd of people. Her voice is faraway, like he's hearing her shout it from a mile away through a megaphone. "I mean, I think I've endured worse."

"That doesn't mean you still can't get hurt."

She finally turns to look at him from across the table. She offers a rare, well, now-a-days it's rare, smile and she reaches across the sticky and gross surface to punch him jokingly in the shoulder. "Don't pull that wisdom shit on me, buddy." She says. "I see straight through it."

"_Wisdom?_ I can't even understand you, Tris." He tells her. "I'm a football player, not a poet."

"A football player? Really?" She leans back in her chair, eyebrows raised in genuine shock, but a teasing smirk plays across her lips. "I couldn't tell from the last practice."

Will belts out a fake laugh and sticks his tongue out. "Just because your captain doesn't mean you can criticize me in our free time. You're off the clock right now."

Tris shakes her head with a grin plastered on her face. Her hair falls softly around her shoulder in perfect, golden curls. He's always mesmerized by her hair when she lets it down. Usually her hair is up in a sloppy bun or stuck in a sweaty helmet, so hardly anyone knows what she looks like with her hair flowing around her face. He's one of the rare few.

"Come on." She sighs and gets up from the uncomfortable, wooden chair. She holds out a hand towards her best, and pretty much only, friend. "The candy store is calling my name."

Will rolls his eyes and takes her hand after getting up. "Of course it is."

* * *

When Tris walks into the house past curfew, shutting the door almost silently, cringing when it creaks a bit, she hears quiet giggles from the living room. Thinking her father is watching one of his cheesy rom-coms, guilty pleasure of his, she tiptoes towards the coach.

Expecting a sleeping father was a stupid thing, she decides as she finds a shirtless Nita Reynolds straddling an, wow okay, also shirtless Tobias. Her tan hands still grip his belt, ready to undo it, as Tris gasps and stares down at the couple with wide eyes. Tobias freezes under the exotic girl while Nita just gives a noise, something between a snort and giggle. Either way, it's awkward. For everyone.

Tris has a mental, gross flashback to when she accidentally caught her parents '_doing it'_ when she was smaller. Her head hurt like people were drilling holes in her skull and she needed her mommy and some grape-flavored Tylenol to take away the pain. Unfortunately, she got more than she bargained for. She finally realized what happened between her parents that night when she was ten and Tobias blurted out to her, not accidentally, what sex was. She cried for almost two hours and Tobias got put on dish duty for a month.

"Tris..." Tobias starts off, not moving a muscle under his girlfriend.

Tris grits her teeth and looks away from both of them, but doesn't move from her spot behind the couch. She looks at the TV playing one of those late-night infomercials. That's when she realizes it has to be at least past two in the morning. She knew she was late past her curfew, but she didn't know how late. "Where's dad." She doesn't even ask it, she demands it.

"Up stairs." He gulps.

The little, blonde girl seethes and Nita makes no move to get off of Tobias. Her hands still remain on his belt. "We give you a home here, we feed you, we keep you away from your shitty family and _this is how you repay us?_" Tris fumes, her voice scratchy, her eyes wet. She feels like she hasn't taken a drink of water in three days. "By bringing your slutty, little girlfriend into _our_ house to have sex on _our_ couch."

Nita tries to protest the 'slutty' part but the look Tris gives her is almost as deadly as poison. She shuts her glossed lips with a little, scared squeak.

The blonde can't help the tears that travel down her cheeks, making her look like an innocent, easily-hurt, little girl. The tears aren't sad, though. They're angry. "I really believed you changed, Eaton." Tris spits, using his last name. It hits a spot in his heart, making him cringe under Nita. "This just proves that I should stop trusting my instincts."

She turns away from him before she outright sobs; a messy, gross sob with snot and everything, scratchy coughs and stuttering breaths. She has never ran up the stairs faster in her entire life before. She just needs to distance herself from the mess downstairs.

When she gets to her room, she lets the door slam, not giving a damn if her dad wakes up. She almost wishes her dad would wake and find out what an ass Tobias really is.

She pushes a chair under her doorknob since her door never had a lock, and collapses against her closet doors with a quiet, exhausted sob.

She doesn't know why she's so upset over finding the two on the couch downstairs. Maybe because she's always liked that couch and never wanted it to be ruined by teenage hormones. Or maybe because she trusted Tobias to be a polite guest in her house and not bring trampy girls home. Or maybe because she seriously thought Tobias had changed for the better. I mean, flowers in the hospital, fuzzy-sock-dance-party after her breakup. She doesn't know.

A weird, yet prominent, feeling of betrayal lays in the bottom of her stomach and chills over her heart, like a snake slithering up a tree, slow and smooth. She felt the exact same feeling when he yelled at her almost four years ago in the Circle. She felt the exact same feeling when she screamed her hatred towards him and ran away, tears freshly fallen on her cheeks.

She's known this boy since she was basically a small child. She knows his favorite color, food, song, movie, subject... The list goes on and on. He's technically lived in the same house since, well, it feels like _forever_. And, despite how much she showed him contempt and indiscreetly ignored him, locked him out, they were childhood friends, roomates, and their relationship still continues, even if they surrounded each other with a fine layer of hatred.

They can't run away from each other, no matter how much she tugs on the leash that holds her to him.

Tris promised herself a long time ago that she would never cry for Tobias Eaton ever again, knowing that he would never be worth her precious tears, but sometimes promises break and people change, feelings change. But, Tobias will never change, she realizes. He'll be the same douche he has always been. And she knows it.

* * *

**A/N: Hello babies.**

**I love you all, the reviews are absolutely gorgeous and I appreciate every. Single. One. Thank you, loves. **

**This, actually, wasn't how I wanted to go with this chapter. I wanted it to be Tris and Tobias getting closer, but to make this story longer, I figured I'd go the opposite direction. But, just wait. He'll prove her wrong. He'll change. Just be patient. It's gonna be a few more chapters until he decides to help her become a major beauty queen. This chapters are pretty much just silly chapter, but I hope you enjoy them!**

**Anyways, sorry for any mistakes. I'm human, people, I make mistakes.**

**Idk why, but I feel like this is a really high quality chapter. Wtf**

**OMG GUYS WE AT ABOUT 60 REVIEWS! I'M HOPING FOR 100 AT 10 CHAPTERS, OMGGGG**

**I love you all and make sure to check out my new story:)**

**Make sure to review, I love your comments:)**

**See you soon. **

**-Scorpiius 3 **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: OMG GUYS THE REVIEWS! WE UP TO 80 I LOVE YOU ALL UGHH.**

**Sorry I've been gone for a few days, I've had to celebrate my sister's grad party, my brother is home from Arizona, so he's staying in my room... Joyous, as you can expect. Also, my boyfriend finally got home from Florida, so you can imagine the happy reunion since he's been gone for almost two weeks. **

**Anyways, I don't know how good this chapter will be cause I wrote it up at 7 in the morning, hopped up on my first cup of coffee in two days. But, this is prob my fav chapter so far cause it's HALLOWEEN EDITION AND FOURTRIS YOU'RE WELCOME. **

**Enjoy, lovelies:)**

**Btw for anyone who wants to correct me in this chapter for my grammar or whatever, Imma teach a quick spelling lesson:**

**Male: Brunet; blond.**

**Female: Brunette; blonde. **

**Just sayin'**

**-Scorpiius**

* * *

_One of the Boys: Chapter Seven_

"Slutty rabbit, slutty nurse, slutty kitty... Slutty slut." Will reads of the plastic packages of costumes hanging off the wall in the dark and dingy Halloween store. "I swear to God, feminine costumes just keep getting more revealing every year. I won't even be surprised when girls start walking around naked. I believe Halloween costumes are oppressive towards women and-" He stops and looks at his best friend. "Hey, what's up? You usually love my feminism rants."

Her head snaps up and her eyes go wide, like she was just caught stealing candy from a baby. Once she realizes that it is, indeed, her best friend talking to her, her face relaxes. She looses her mind a little more each day. "Sorry, yeah. Slutty costumes are degrading."

Will squints at her, the costumes forgotten in the moment as he looks at his best friend with a concerned expression. "You look... tired."

She breathes out her mouth, trying to laugh but it just comes out like a really deep sigh. She gives a exhausted smile, her brows curving in. "Thanks, Will. You really know how to compliment a woman."

He holds his hands up in surrender, feeling only a bit guilty about saying that to his already self-conscious friend. But their relationship is mostly built off of honesty. And bad jokes. "Sorry, but you're looking more haggard then usual. And that's saying a lot."

"I haven't been able to sleep right since, you know." Tris likes to call the Tobias-Nita incident the 'Couch Conundrum'. "And, with the break up. And working with Tobias at practices. God, I wanna rip my hair out on a daily basis!"

Will reaches out and grabs her shoulders, shaking her wildly. Patrons around them stare curiously. "Get yourself together, woman!" He exclaims and a laugh bubbles out of her. Will finds the sound delightful and lets go. She staggers a couple feet back and then stops, hands out to her sides like a bird ready to take flight. Her ponytail is coming loose. "Don't give those oppressive misogynists a reason to ruin you." She laughs again and he continues, trying to make her mood turn back to normal. "That means the patriarchy will win!"

"I need to stop giving you those feminism pamphlets." Tris declares and turns to the costumes, trying to ignore the aching in her skull begging her to remember the reason she was upset in the first place. She pushes the dark cloud away.

God, she can never sit on that damn couch again.

* * *

The mall was never a place she liked to visit, but she seems to be spending every free minute she has between school and practices there with Will. Not because she loves blowing her money (Well, her father's money) on comfy Nike shorts and chocolate-covered strawberries, but because Tobias loathes the mall just as much as she does. That means she hardly has to see him anymore these days. Except for dinner and practices, she can almost avoid him entirely.

"I just don't get why Victoria Secret's yoga pants are _so fucking expensive_." Tris says to Will, walking beside her. She knocks her shopping bags into his thigh. "I mean, I can go to Target and get a pair for like, fifteen dollars. Not fifty."

"It's the patriarchy."

She bursts into genuine laughter. "Why is that your excuse for everything?"

"Because it's true." He joins in with the laughter.

The day is lovely, she confirms in her mind, staring up into the ceiling windows where the sun in shining brightly through the glass. The mall is decorated with cliche Halloween junk, like plastic skulls and paper bats hanging from store doorways. Top 40 plays aloud from the speakers with a "Monster Mash" remix mixed in there every ten minutes. Halloween is tomorrow and she's already dreading having to deal with a bunch of drunk high schoolers at the party Will is dragging her along to. He got an invite from some cheerleader. All football players are invited, of course, it's a weird 'jock thing' where both social groups are best friends and get invited to everything.

Sometimes she wishes she were a huge tech nerd instead of a star quarterback and field goal kicker. Then she wouldn't have to deal with her true enemies: The cheer squad.

"You know what I don't get?" Will asks her.

"Hmm?"

"If yogas from Target are cheaper and just as good as Victoria Secret's, why do girls buy from there then?"

"It's a brand thing, I guess." Tris shrugs. "Girls are weird."

"I won't argue with that." He teases and fist-bumps her. She laughs and they continue to navigate through the mall, walking around loose children and giggly teenagers with eyes glued to their phones.

Will is too busy explaining to her his theory on evolution when she spots him.

Peter Hayes, leaning against the marble slab of Tiffany and Co. with his arm around an young, auburn girl. Tris figures she has to be at most a freshman, but she has more curves than Tris. And you can obviously tell when you notice her in the black, tight dress she's wearing. The girl is typing on a cellphone and Peter is conversing with a brunet.

Tris freezes, stopping completely in the middle of the mall. Will continues to walk and talk, not even noticing that his friend has stopped two yards away. "Tris?" He asks, turning around and noticing her stopped like a deer in headlights. She looks at him with wide, stormy eyes and snaps her attention back as he raises an eyebrow at her.

She quickly clutches at her ear and bends down. "I dropped my earring." She feels on the floor for a couple seconds before rising and pretending to put her earring back in. Thank the Lord she remembered to put in a pair today.

She walks back over to him and gives him a convincing smile and snakes her arm through his and they continue to walk, his endless chatter starts up again and her gaze finds her ex again.

The brunet left the pair and he's chatting to the red-head, his lips so close to her ear that Tris almost feels like crying, missing the way he talked so close to her that way. Missing the way his hand gripped her waist like she was his and only his.

Her grip on Will's arm slackens as the girl kisses the corner of Peter's mouth and he pulls her closer.

That's when Tris, eyes focused on the couple and not what's in front of her, runs into the corner of a kiosk, hits her face on the sign hanging beside it and collapses to the ground, smacking her head brutally on the tile floors of the mall.

Pain shoots through her skull and Will shouts her name before falling to the ground next to her, sitting up on his knees. She groans loudly and places a shaky hand on the throbbing spot on the back of her head, pulling it away warm and sticky.

When her vision focuses on the dark, red blood covering her hand, her eyes roll back and the world blacks out.

* * *

A monitor beeps obnoxiously besides her while she sits on the edge of the hospital bed, kicking her feet back and forth like a child since she's too short to touch the floor.

Her skull pulsates painfully and her temples beat like a steady drum with a major migraine. She keeps her hands folded in her lap to keep from touching the staples itching the back of her head.

Mr. Prior walks into the hospital room, his footsteps heavy with exhaustion, and hands her a fruit punch vitamin water. She unscrews it and takes a gulp while her father sags into the chair across from the bed. He puts his head in his hands and they both say nothing.

Will walks in this time, hospital cafeteria cookies in hand and a smile plastered on his face. "Hey! Sugar or chocolate chip?" She takes a sugar cookie when he holds the container out to her. He offers one to Mr. Prior and he takes a chocolate chip one, nibbling on it half-heartedly. "The nurse says you can leave in fifteen, they just gotta check out the staples once more."

And just as he says that, the heavyset nurse struts into the room and probes Tris's head with her gloved fingers, tugging on her hair to give her an even bigger headache.

After about twenty minutes, they finally make it to the car. Will departs with a hug and a promise to call her in a bit and Tris slowly climbs into shout-gun. Her dad stays silent, starting the car and pulling out of the almost-empty parking lot with lots of jerks. The sky is dark overhead and chilly air breezes in through Mr. Prior's half-open window. Uncomfortable goosebumps rise on her arms, but she doesn't ask for him to close it. The tense silence is worse than the cold air.

When he sighs heavily, she knows she's in for a big talk. He switches on his blinker and starts with something she never thought he's say until she was in college. "I think you need to find a job."

"What?" She turns from looking out the window to staring at him with an open mouth. Sure, she's a bit spoiled, her and Caleb both, and she mooches off of him for money because it's hard to get a job at her young age, but she never thought he'd every make her get one. He never made Caleb until he mentioned he wanted to an expensive college in North Caroline. Mr. Prior pretty much filled out a McDonald's application for him. College tuition is pretty much the only thing money-wise the children have to worry about. "Why?"

"You've been in the hospital twice in the past year." Mr. Prior informs her tiredly. "Staying the hospital for two months isn't cheap, Beatrice." Oh God, he used her full name. He's serious. "I'm still trying to work it off. And now? With this? I can't afford this."

"I'm sorry." She whispers.

"It's not your fault, these things happen," He assures. "But, you're old enough to get a job and help out around here and pay for your own things. For once."

She's silent, a feeling of guilt rising uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach. "Okay, I'll go job hunting."

He says nothing, just gives her a little, obviously relieved smile and turns onto the highway.

* * *

Tris turns in her bed, her body feeling cramped and hot, her staples poking into her head insufferably. So much for a fun Halloween.

"My dad's keeping me in my room like I'm a prisoner." Tris whispers into her phone, Will laughs on the other line. The doorbell down below rings and the voices of screaming, excited children waft through her open window.

"He's just being a good, worrying dad." He assures her and she rolls her eyes.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were in my position."

"Well, you did just crack your head open." He reminds her slowly.

"Blah blah blah." She nags, turning onto her side and kicking off her blanket. "I feel fine."

"You wouldn't be saying that later if you go to the party." Will says. "You'll complain about the people, an upcoming headache, the overwhelming smell of urine and alcohol..."

"Okay, gross." She says. "I get it. I don't particularly like parties, but I like them more than being stuck here."

"Mmhm." He mumbles sarcastically.

"Shut up." She tells her with a laugh. If he were here, she'd throw a pillow at his face and he'd laugh and throw it back. God, she wishes she were with him and not locked in the house like a delinquent with a shock collar around her neck.

There's a knock on her door. "Just a sec." She whispers to will and lowers her phone so it's not visible to the person at the door. "What!"

The door swings open and Tobias stands in the doorway. Her eyes widen. She hasn't spoken to him in a couple of days and he hasn't been to dinner; She figured he's been staying with his mom for the past couple of days. Or with _Nita_. Just the thought of that makes her want to gag.

He throws her a plastic package. It lands next to her legs on the bed. "Get dressed."

She just gives him a look.

Keeping eye contact, she lifts her phone to her ear. "Will, I'm gonna have to call you back." She says into the phone. Will says a goodbye and she hands up the phone. "Excuse me?" She asks Tobias.

"Get dressed." He repeats, nodding to the package laying on the bed. She glances down and finds a 'sexy' cat costume. She rolls her eyes. "Do you want to get out of here or not?"

"Of course." She says. She sits up onto the edge of the bed. "But, not with _you_ while wearing _that_."

This time Tobias rolls his eyes. She glares at him. "Come on. It's Halloween." He reasons. "The one day of the year where females are expected to dress like total sluts. No one will judge you."

"_I _will judge me."

"Well, don't." Tobias shrugs with an jerky grin. "Get changed and meet me in my room in five."

"Gross."

"You're the gross one." Tobias tells her. "Hurry up, I'm breaking you out."

* * *

**A/N: HAHAHAHAHA I'M ENDING IT HERE I'MM SO SORRY BUT IT HAS TO HAPPEN**

**I didn't want to end it here,but I didn't realize how long this chapter was going to be. And this is only the first half. I don't like going over 2k words, just because I don't like putting that much into one chapter. So, I'm breaking it off. You'll get part two today or tomorrow. It depends how busy I am. **

**Love you guys so fucking much omggggg. **

**The fun is yet to come, so stay tuned. :)**

**Sorry for any mistakes.**

**-Scorpiius**


	8. Chapter 8

_One of the Boys: Chapter Eight_

_Halloween Edition Part Two!_

"I find this demeaning." Is the first thing Tris tells him the moment her heeled feet step into the bedroom. The shoes thud harshly when she walks, immensely lacking a sexy-sophistication.

She flicks the tiny bell that hangs around her neck on a velvet choker. A 'cat collar'.

Tobias doesn't even react to the complaint, no witty comeback, just silence. His face is a mask of astonishment, an expression that says _'Damn, I didn't think she could pull this off__'_. His eyes wander her body like she's a menu and he's deciding which steak would be juicier, more delicious to conquer. What surprises _her _is not the greedy eyes taking in her new attire, but the way it feels to be looked at like that and how she doesn't mind it. She doesn't feel sick, or degraded. She feels even more empowered. Thinking if she can make one boy act like this, she can make any boy. With just the power of a good push-up bra. Wow.

She almost backed out when she opened the plastic package that contained the 'sexy kitty' costume. Looking in the mirror after the outfit was put on, she almost cried, not being able to handle how that girl in the mirror didn't look like the girl she knew on a personal level. The football player, the straight-A student, the little sister, the only daughter.

The fishnets made her highly uncomfortable, the corset pushed up her lack of cleavage, and the black tulle made her feel like a whore-ish ballerina. It, also, didn't help that the only shoes that matched were the black pumps she bought on a whim; Will told her, when she eyed them during one of their many mall adventures, that she would probably need them one day. Damn, he was right. Like always.

The only way you could actually tell she was a cat and not a _stripper_, to put it lightly, was from the black, fuzzy cat ears poking out from under her curly, blonde ponytail.

After she wiped her tears away, drew on some cat whiskers, to make the costume, with an eyeliner stick, she ventured from her room and into their meeting spot.

Tris is always in awe every time she steps foot in Tobias's room, and she isn't in there that often. Only to drop off laundry and tell him to put the clean dishes away. The room is sterile, reminding her of a hospital. Maybe that's why she doesn't enjoy going in their; bad experiences. Since the room used to be his and Caleb's, before he moved off to Duke, the walls are still a deep blue. The twin beds still lay against opposite walls, a wood nightstand between them, and a desk right by the closet, across from the beds. The books are stacked neatly and straight on the desk. The lamps on the desk and nightstand are dust-free. The beds' covers are folded crisply.

Tobias was sitting in the desk chair when she came in, a bored expression on his face. But when she walked- no, _strutted _into the room, he hopped from the chair as if it were on fire.

She decides to take him in as well, eyeing his Pharaoh costume with a side-eye. Tobias is shirtless, only a piece of black and gold fabric, a 'skirt', covering his- well, you know. His privates, his booty, ect. A black and gold headpiece to indicate he's actually an Egyptian god and not a male prostitute. In his grip is a golden staff, a point, like a spear, facing the ceiling. Black sandals on his feet. His face is stoic, his blue eyes wide.

She tries not to focus on his 6-pack. It's nothing new, considering she lives with him, sees him take off his shirt when it gets too hot at practice. But now? Hot damn, _now _it's somehow different because in the pit of her stomach, something is whispering to her, telling her that this isn't some causal thing. This is something real.

She turns away before she can think about why her face is heating up like an oven.

Tris taps her foot and crosses her arms. Then uncrosses them. His eyes are beginning to make her feel uncomfortable, like she's lying on the couch during a summer Cali day without the A/C on.

Finally, Tobias takes a step towards her, his sandals slapping against his heel, making a harsh sound in the tense silence. He steps close, close enough for her to feel his breath on her hairline. He leans down and she almost cowers away.

He reaches behind her and tugs on her ponytail, pulling the hair from its restraint. The blonde curls tumble around her shoulders, making her feel, well- like a _cat_. A _large cat_. A lion with a crazy mane. He sighs lightly, the breath tickling her skin, and straightens her cat ears with a sly smirk. Meanwhile, she can hardly catch a breath.

"Perfect." He whispers to her. They finally part from their close stance when she drops her eyes to the floor and steps away, face flushing with a feeling she isn't so familiar with.

* * *

The worst thing about being a football player in high school is dealing with the cheerleaders.

It's the 21st first century and stereotypes are still in place, especially for the relationships between the football team and the cheer squad. They're supposed to date each other, run for homecoming king and queen together, bust some sick moves and take up the entire dance floor while everyone circles around them at prom.

The problem is: Tris can't stand the cheerleading squad. And she's not a lesbian, so she's definitely not taking one to prom.

The girls get on her last nerve, every time they're in a 20-foot radius the hairs on Tris's neck tingle with frustration. She knows to never stereotype someone until you know truly who they are, but she doesn't have to know the team to see that they match that slutty, high-ponytailed label.

And now what is she doing? Standing on the porch of a some-what-mansion, waiting for a drunk party-er to open the damn door so she can get out of the actually-chilly, Cali air and into the stupid party. God, she did not want to end up here without Will by her side.

Instead she's going to be walking into a party filled with judge-y assholes eyeing her and Tobias at her side. Half the school would give up a limb to make it into a party like this, hanging off the arm of- omg, gasp -Tobias Eaton, the _amazing _wide receiver and _major __bitch magnet._ Not Tris. She almost wants to hang herself.

Finally, God, _finally _the door swings open and a member of the soccer team stands before them, absolutely wasted. Do these kids not know the Athletic Code of Conduct, which results in expulsion from the team and school, maybe even _jail_ considering the fact of underage drinking.

Idiots.

"Chapman!" Tobias exclaims and takes a step into the house, clapping the guy on the shoulder. He almost tumbles over, but Tobias rights him, a beer already being placed in his hands by jocks that immediately surround him.

"Yeah, don't mind me." Tris mutters and steps into the house, almost slipping on spilled alcohol. The house's stench automatically enters her nostrils, making her almost double over and gag. Yup, the delightful smell of a house party: Urine, cheap beer, and hormonal teenagers trying to get some. Lovely. "I'll just go and _make some friends_. Thanks for bringing me, Tobias." She says sarcastically to herself because God forbid anyone is actually listening.

She navigates through the house, with little success of course. Going through the kitchen and living room multiple times in one big circle until she finally figures she should go a different way. Finally, she decides to climb the stairs. Stairs that are overflowing with multiple slutty animals and shirtless guys making out against the banister. Why is that considered a good idea?

Being back at home and watching _Family Feud _with her dad doesn't sound like such a bad idea right about now.

By the time she makes it up the stairs and onto the landing, she's already scarred for life. Walking through the hallway of people is like trying to find a way through a maze, but there is no maze. It's just a field of cornstalks that you think is a maze.

Tris gasps in surprise when her back is pushed against the wall and a hand covers her mouth. Her heart beats out the rhythm of how terrified she is. She would rather not get gang raped at a Halloween party. But she lowers her heeled foot that was about to kick the person in the jewels when she hears his voice. "Guess _whoo_?"

She rips away from the person. "Will!" She exclaims and punches the laughing boy in the shoulder. "Fuck you! You scared the shit out of me." Will is dressed up as a police officer, but the sleeves are ripped off, showing his muscular arms.

"Happy Halloween!" He cheers and pulls her into a huge bear hug, lifting her off the ground. He sets her down. "I didn't think it was you at first, the costume is-" He breaks off and whistles, looking her up and down teasingly. "Wow. Different. What are you doing here? I thought you were being jailed."

"I got the opportunity to break out." She stage-whispers, putting a hand over one side of her mouth.

"What opportunity was that?" He asks over the noise of the pounding music. She still doesn't know where the speakers are that are producing the music. Does the house have speakers built into the walls?

"Tobias Eaton." Is all she offers.

Will looks around. "So where is he?"

Tris rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, leaning her shoulder against the wall. "Probably getting some as we speak."

"Gross."

"Tell me about it." She says.

Will shakes his head, laughing and then takes her hand. "Come on, I've got someone I want you to meet."

* * *

"Never have I ever..." The mocha-skinned girl thinks, tapping her long, pink, talon-like index nail on the corner of her red mouth. "Given a blowjob."

A couple people groan and gulp down their alcohol from their cans and a girl in a nurse costume, bright red bra showing from her unbuttoned dress, giggles and sips. She then collapses from her chair to the floor, unconscious. Her drink spills down the front of her outfit. "Mar's out!" A guy calls from the circle.

Tris crosses and uncrosses her legs nervously. A can of unopened beer sweats in her hand.

Christina, the girl who just spoke the latest Never-Have-I-Ever through cherry lips, sits with her head in Will's lap, lounging across the couch they both sit in. Tris's mother would call the couch a 'love seat'. She bets _a_ _lot_ of 'love' has been made on that seat.

Okay, so it stung Tris a little when Christina was introduced as Will's girlfriend almost fifteen minutes earlier. It's not that she was upset about Will's new relationship status, it's not like she thought of him in _that way_. But, best friends tell each other when they decide to date a cheerleader with really weird nails. He didn't do that.

Supposedly, they have been dating for a week, yet everyone knew except Tris.

She pulled him aside when he told her, grabbing his arm and tugging him away from a startled Christina. "What the hell?" She asked him as he rubbed his arm where her nails dug into the skin.

"What?"

"_Girlfriend?_" Tris said incredulously. The chatter of the room surrounded them. They were in the finished basement, complete with couches, a flat-screen, and _no stupid fucking music blaring through speakers_.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Will admitted with puppy eyes. "I didn't want to upset you with everything else that's going on."

She was in a state of astonishment. She wondered if the person standing in front of her was actually her best friend. He looked like Will, had Will's voice, but what was coming out of his mouth was definitely _not_ Will. Her mouth opened and closed. "The only reason I'm upset now is because my _best friend _kept a pretty big thing from me."

Then she walked away from him; End of conversation. She took a seat on a leather couch and Will and his girlfriend sat across from her and the game started. A can of beer was placed in her hand and she didn't argue.

"Tris?" A voice knocks around in her mind. She looks up at the smiling face of Christina. She's dressed as a mermaid, Tris just notices. A long, green, sparkly skirt ending in a 'tail'. A pink seashell bra is the only thing that covers her upper body. "It's your turn."

"Uh," Tris looks around at all the staring, drunk faces. Eyes dropping, dopey smiles and lusty eyes. She hates how anxious they make her. "Never have I ever failed a test."

Everyone around her takes a sip. Will scoffs and takes a sip also. "That's a lie." He announces. "Third grade. You failed a math test, I remember distinctly. I had to do with shapes."

"You have to take a sip then, Tris." Christina informs her and a couple guys in the circle whoop, knowing she hasn't even opened her beer.

Tris, hesitantly, snaps open her can of beer and takes a timid sip. She's never had beer before because she's always followed the rules.

The alcohol burns on her tongue, not in a way pop does, but worse. It's disgusting, foul, but she swallows her sip and even takes another gulp. A boy next to her cheers and pats her on the back. She almost spits the drink out.

She's sorta sick of always following the rules.

The game goes on. People sip and then give their own Never. The game doesn't show just how much of a slut you are; It shows just how much of a prude you are, too.

Tris hasn't taken another sip of beer since her own Never. No, she's never had sex, or gotten a hickey, or gone skinny-dipping. She's a little girl who follows the rules and never takes her top off. She never thought the game could get more embarrassing until-

"Okay, okay." A girl in the circle, the one who passed out, quiets the rowdy circle. Mar, Tris thinks her name is. "Never have I ever given a hand job."

"But you've given a blowjob?" Christina slurs. She's getting a little shit-faced herself. Will runs his hands through her short, black hair.

"Why would I ruin such a good nail job? These hands are _model hands_." Mar says and holds up her hands, showing the circle her long, purple nails. God, why does every cheerleader have long-ass acrylics. "Now, drink!"

The people who have done the Never take a sip from their can. Including Tris.

"Tris?" Will asks, eyes wide. "You've given a handjob?"

She shrugs, face heating up. The beer leaves a sour aftertaste. She doesn't like it very much. "I dated Peter Hayes for two years." She reminds him. That's all she gives because her answer is pretty self explanatory.

"Peter Hayes?" A girl with purple-silver hair asks. Half of her head is shaved. Tris doesn't know her name. "You went with him for two years and all you gave up was your hand."

The circle laughs and Tris feels her heartbeat accelerate. She _hates_ being laughed at.

"I seriously doubt that." A guy adds. "A slut never kisses and tells, though." He winks at her and her beer makes a beeline up her throat. She swallows it back down her throat and tries to stay calm.

"Hey dick, lay off." Will demands of the guy, sitting on the edge of the couch, ready to pounce. Christina holds his arm, holding him back.

"Why?" The boy asks, standing up and pounding on his chest, directing it towards Will. An invitation to take a swing. "She's fucking cheating at the game to hide the fact that she fucked Hayes."

The words shoot a hole right through her, shaming her. Her eyes get wet, threatening to spill and show everybody how weak she is. She thrusts herself off the couch, knocking her beer obliviously on the carpet. It spills out and leaves a dark splatter. She runs as fast as she can to the stairs, heading towards the main floor. Trying to put all those mean words and insults behind her, where she puts everything else. Only Will's shouting voice remains in her mind as she clomps up the stairs in her heels.

Though, he doesn't come after her. And that says everything.

* * *

**A/N: Omg I'm sorry but I'm ending this chapter here cause I'm fucking evil and I like cutting off chapters before the best part. This is about 3k words and I don't want it any longer. But, Ill post this now and promise to either post the next chapter tonight, late, or tomorrow. **

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**Sorry for any mistakes.**

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**OH AND FOR THE PERSON THAT REVIEWD EVERY CHAPTER AT ONE TIME BECAUSE YOU KNEW I WANTED TO GET TO 100, I LOVE YOU, 46LOVER. I THOUGHT THAT WAS SWEET.**

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**-Scorpiius**


	9. Chapter 9

_One of the Boys: Chapter Nine_

_Halloween Edition Part Three! (Let's hope there's not a fourth 'cause this is taking forever)_

An asian in a bunny costume was kissing down his neck when Tris found him.

Her hands are everywhere and while Tobias may have an expression of pure joy on his face, he's stiff as a board under her, unmoving. That is, until Tris comes into view from behind the couch and sees him there.

He shoots up from the cushions, knocking the girl off his lap and onto the floor, ending in a large thud and a cry of pain. Guys autopmatically swarm her, asking if she's okay. Her long, ebony hair is a rat's nest.

"Tris!" He exclaims, his voice a pitch higher. He clears his throat and repeats her name in his normal voice. His face is slowly turning rubicund. "Hey, how are you?"

She crosses her arms over her torso, but that just pushes her cleavage together and he just stares at it before her voice breaks him out of his trance. "Can you take me home?"

"I was sorta in the middle of something." He says, his tone slightly condescending. Too patronizing for her taste. He motions to the girl still sitting on the floor, a pout on her thin, red lips.

She clears her throat and her voice gets louder, sterner. "Sorry. Let me repeat myself." She says. "Take me home. Now."

He gives her a look and then lays back on the couch, hands crossed behind his hand. "Tris, can't you have any fun for once?" He asks. The boys around him titter. "It's a party, for God's sake."

The words snap something inside of her, like a rubber band releasing and stinging bare flesh. She reaches her hand out and snatches his ear. He cries out in pain, cupping the hands holding his ear. She doesn't even have to say anything else for him to follow her.

As they walk towards the front door, the people around them stare, some laughing and snicker, but some just look at Tris like she's the devil in disguise. Tris just continues walking, Tobias whining with pain besides her. She can feel his ear heating with pain under her fingers.

When they get to the freshly mowed lawn of the some-what-mansion, he jerks away from her, ripping his ear from her hand. She just keeps walking towards the car. "Tris, what the fuck?" He exclaims, practically shouting at her retreating figure. The music from the house pulses behind him. "Tris, fucking stop."

She turns quickly around to face him, like a spinning tornado. Her hair whirls and hits her face, her face that is currently red with an undeniable anger. "Just take me home." She seethes, so quietly he can hardly her the words she's speaking. "You brought me here, which was a mistake by the way, now take me home!" She turns and stomps towards the car again.

He jogs to catch up with her surprisingly fast pace. "Fucking wait a second!" He says and grabs her by the shoulder, spinning her around. She tumbles and falls into him, his arm automatically goes around her. Her bare skin is warm under his hand. She thrusts away from him, but doesn't head back to the car. "What the hell happened in there?"

She wraps her arms around her torso again, her automatic shy stance. He's seen in before. Many times before. She looks at her black pumps, covered in mud and grass. "They called me a slut." She whispers. He leans closer, hardly catching her hushed words.

"What?"

"_They called me a slut._" She repeats, louder than before. The words come out slowly, like she's trying to explain a complicated math equation to a confused child.

The sentence breaks something in him. A vase shatter against a tile floor, a mirror being smashed to pieces by a hammer. It makes him not only horribly upset that someone would accuse her of that, but angry for that same reason. He doesn't really know what she's ever done with Peter in terms of 'sexually relations', but he knows it can't be too much- he knows her horrible fear of losing the V-card -but, even if she did do something, nobody has the right to judge.

Tobias thinks people need to learn that. "I have an idea."

* * *

Almost an hour ago, Tobias told Tris in the car as they headed towards town that revenge is best served raw.

She finally understood what he meant when he pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store and directed her towards the egg section. "Behold." He said to her. The chilly air from the egg fridge chilled their half-exposed bodies to the bone. "The best objects used for getting even since the olden' days. Now, fill 'er up." He wheeled the cart towards.

When they filled the cart to maximum capacity with cartons of eggs, and toilet paper, too, just in case, they rolled towards the cash register. Tobias pushed Tris on the back of the cart the entire time, loving the way she would laugh at the most under-appreciated things ever.

Now, as they walk through the some-what-mansion's grass for the third time that night, they both carry eggs and toilet paper, ready to fire. She has to admit, it's probably the weirdest thing she's ever done in her entire life. Running through muddy grass that feels like quicksand under her heels, dressed as a kitty, with a Pharaoh next to her, while they both hold the weapons of their choice: Raw eggs and TP.

He leads her behind a pine tree that is in line with the house and holds up an index finger, "One minute." He whispers, then puts his finger to his mouth. "Don't do anything stupid. I'll be right back." Then he ran into the house, his sandals flapping loudly against his heel. She rolls his eyes as he's welcomed into the house when the door opens. Guys pat his back and cheer, then the door closes and cuts off her view of the inside.

The neighborhood is surprisingly quiet, minus the loud house right in front of her. She's curious as to why people aren't on their own porches, complaining and dialing the police to place a noise complaint. She's mostly astonished by how the party hasn't been shut down yet. They're not being too discreet on the partying and obvious underage drinking. You can practically smell the cheap alcohol from a mile away.

Tobias comes back five minutes later holding two bottles of whiskey. He shakes the bottles slightly in his grip on the necks and does a little dance, a happy grin on his face, lighting up his blue eyes.

Tris shakes her head at his joyous attitude towards the alcohol, but grabs a bottle when it's handed to her. She unscrews the cap with minimum trouble and takes two, large gulps. The golden liquid burns her throat and her nostrils feel like they're on fire. She coughs and clears her throat, shaking her hair out.

Tobias looks at her like she just grew a second head, but a surprised smile is placed on his lips, showing off his extremely white teeth. You can hardly tell there is a little breakage on his left canine tooth anymore, but she can always see it. She was there when it happened, when he tripped during a basketball match in the Circle and knocked out one of his incisor baby teeth and broke off a bit of his newly grown-in adult canine on the metal pole of the basketball hoop. She remembers that he didn't even cry, he was so excited to loose a baby tooth.

"Who are you and what have you done with Tris?" Tobias asks, a familiar teasing in his tone. That usual, confusing feeling in her stomach soars when he grins at her.

"You're looking at the new-and-improved Tris Prior." She announces quietly, returning his expression. "The one that now drinks irresponsibly, eggs people's houses, and dresses up as a slutty kitten."

"Now, I wouldn't say 'improved'." He says and then turns away from her, like he regrets saying that. His ears slowly turn pink. He turns back to face her. "Are you ready to get this party started?"

She hands him his own carton of eggs and gets one out for herself. They each get an egg ready. "Let 'em fly."

Then, they let the eggs soar towards the house.

* * *

The black car is parked on the side of the road, an empty park beside them and the moon shining red in the dark sky. Clouds cover the stars.

Their laughs and warm breath fog the windows, an empty bottle of Jack on the floor of his backseat, the newly opened one is sitting on the center console between them. She sits facing him, her legs pulled into her chest as she leans against the door, the back of her head resting against the cool window. She can hardly feel those staples anymore. He sits almost the exact same way, except he's too large to pull his knees up.

"Okay, okay. It's your turn! Stop distracting me." She laughs and grabs the glass bottle by the neck and unscrews the cap. She hardly pays attention to the burning sensation that travels down her body as she takes another sip. Her millionth sip of the night. "Truth or dare?"

She purrs her sentence and Tobias's heart picks up a pace. "Truth." He says almost too quickly. When they were kids, Tris was the Truth or Dare _queen_. She could make the most hilarious dares and embarrassing truths, it almost made him want to hang himself, playing with her. That's how they knew everything about each other. This stupid fucking game.

"Hmm." She moans and then giggles, finding the sound amusing. He grins at the obviously-drunk lightweight. "Are you are _virginnn_?"

"Are you kidding me? That's your question?" He asks and she has a sudden fear of the answer. "Of course I am."

"What about you and Nita?" Tris wonders, pouting a bit. Her lips are glossy and swollen.

"Me and _Nita_?" He asks, incredulous. "That wasn't even a thing."

"Seemed like a pretty big thing when you guys were on the couch." She pouts more.

He shakes his head, laughing, and wonders _Oh my god, is Tris _jealous? "I practically tossed her out of the house when you stomped back upstairs."

Tris says nothing so he asks her truth of dare. For once, she picks truth.

"Are you still in love with Peter?" He asks, genuinely curious.

She nods intensely. "I think he knew, too." She says, eventually, after nodding for a minute thinking of something to add. "It just didn't matter enough for him to care. I don't think he ever loved me back. What about you? Have you ever been in _loove_?" She teases him.

"I'm in love with someone I can't have. Someone I can't get." He admits and she frowns, a bit sad at that news. She doesn't know if she's sad that he doesn't love her, or if the words for unrequited love are just upsetting in general. "The thing is, I think I did have her. At one point. But, I lost her and I can't have her all over again."

She's crying by the end of his confession and he looks at her with concern. She just laughs, silent tears coming out of her gray eyes. Her voice is scratchy when she talks again. "How do you move on?"

He thinks for a long time. He just stares at her. Just looks at the tears streaming down her porcelain skin, at her sad smile that tells him everything. "You move on when you understand that you can't turn back."

"Tobias, who do you love?"

He opens his mouth, almost says something. Almost. The rest of his life could turn out differently, for better or for worse, if he says it. But he doesn't. "It's a secret." He whispers loudly and she doesn't argue, for once. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." She says quickly, probably sick of all these sad confessions.

"Are you sure?" He asks, smiling a mischievous smile. She nods, confirming. "_Okaayy_."

And with that, all sad moments forgotten in the midst of the moment, he puts his car in drive and heads back onto the road.

* * *

She doesn't even hesitate to grab the eggs when Tobias tells her the dare. He parks in front of Peter's house.

"Are you sure?" He asks, getting out and following her to Peter's driveway.

"Hundred and two percent positive." Tris assures him with a confident, dedicated voice. Her eyes are trained on the dark house. "Helping?" She asks him and then passes him an egg when he nods timidly.

She doesn't even count down or indicate to throw the egg, she just flings in at the house and watches it break against a spot of brick near the front door. She's already throwing her second when Tobias releases his own.

The make it through the first carton before the lights in the house begin to turn on and Tris turns to Tobias with a panicked look, a deer in headlights expression. "Shit." She whispers, frozen to the cement.

"Run, Tris!" He yells and takes her hand, pulling her towards the car a few yards away. Peter is already on the porch, screaming with rage. They can't hear him, though, over their laughter and shrieks.

They're both panting for loss of breath by the time Tobias is heading towards the freeway, heading for home. Tris is practically on top of him, her hand rests on his inner thigh and her head is leaning against his bare shoulder. She runs a hand through his chocolate locks. His headpiece lays forgotten in the backseat. "Thanks, Tobias." She says with a sleepy voice. Her hand smoothes through his hair and he can hardly focus on the road with her breath on his neck.

"Ya' know, Pharaohs worship cats." He tells her quietly, turning his cheek towards her. She just laughs loudly and rubs her face against his shoulder before finding a comfortable position.

When Tobias pulls into the driveway of their house, Tris is out, snoring lightly with her face smashed against the leather seat. Her mouth opens and closes silently. He smiles, and scoops her up when he jogs over to her side and opens the door.

She carries her inside, his arm under her bent knees and his other arm over her shoulders. Her head lolls against his chest.

When he enters the house, jumps from the couch at the sound of the door opening and closing. "Where the hell have you guys been?"

"I took Tris out for some fun." He informs him. "I better go put her to bed."

Mr. Prior doesn't respond, just looks at his sleeping daughter in Tobias's arms. "What is she _wearing_?"

"She's a cat." Is all Tobias gives before heading towards the stairs.

"We're talking about this tomorrow!" Mr. Prior shouts up the stairs.

"Go it, chief."

Tobias places her softly on her bed, takes off her shoes, and places the covers over her. He feels made for tucking her in with her uncomfortable costume still on, but if she found out he changed her into her PJ's, she'd maim him.

When he's heading for the door, he hears her tiny voice speak up. "Tobias?"

He slowly turns to face her. Her face is illuminated by the strip of light peeking through the cracked door. Her eyes are bluer than they were earlier. "Come here." She says and he obeys.

Tobias sits on the edge of the bed and looks down at the sleepy blonde girl with a rat's nest hair. It hangs in tangles around her head, imitating a messed up halo.

"Truth or dare?" She asks and he bursts into a bit of laugher. She frowns, pouts her pink lips.

"Dare." He gives in.

"I dare you to kiss me." She says with a slow, slurred voice and he doesn't even hesitate.

He scoops her up, holding her by her back as she crushes her lips to his. It's like a bunch of fucking fireworks, no joke. He feels it in the pit of his stomach and rising in his throat and she feels it, too. Like a pack of wild butterflies decided to use her stomach as a home. She always thought that description of a perfect kiss was cliche and untrue, an exaggeration, but it's _so true_.

Her hands go into his hair, tugging harshly at his hair and he moans a bit into her lips, making them buzz and tickle and his hands tighten on around her waist, tugging her almost onto his lap.

After a couple minutes of a full-blown makeout sess, they split apart and Tris flops back down on the bed, head falling against the pillows with a puff.

He's speechless and a bit too _excited _and completely astonished and shocked and any word related to 'happy'. That's what he's feeling as he slowly gets up from the bed and leaves the room after saying a quiet goodnight.

When her bedroom door closes tightly, he falls against it, sighing a deep sigh because guess what? He just dug his own grave.

* * *

**AN: Andddd you guys are fucking welcome for a kissing scene. I didn't plan it, but I feel like you guys deserve it cause we AT 100 PLUS REVIEWS FUCK YEAH GUYS I LOVE YOUUU**

**Oh, happy 4th of July for all you Americanossss! Go American I fucking love America. Fav holiday right here, I also fucking love George Washington, so this my damn holiday right now! Fuck yeah**

**Sorry for that excessive swearing**

**Also, sorry for all the swearing in these stories, but you have to know they are teenagers and teenagers, or at least I do, swear A LOT. A LOT A LOT.**

**Okay, so fucking shoutout for Divergent Kitty who reviewed every chapter with these long-ass, hilarious reviews. I love them very much. Made my day.**

**Sorry for any mistakes:)**

**Reviews and follows and shit like that are fucking amazing, guys! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH**

**We have one more chapter until Tris plans to change into a beautyy queennnn!**

**HAPPY 4TH I'LL SEE YOU SOONNN:)**

**-Scorpiius **


	10. Chapter 10

_One of the Boys: Chapter Ten_

The incessant tapping of a pencil pounds in her already aching head. Her fingers grip the edge of the desk, trying to stay clam. She takes multiple deep breathes before the noise becomes even _louder _and she finally snaps. "Can you not?"

The pencil stops and she sighs, relaxing in her chair. "Sorry, is it bugging you?" He asks from the desk next to her.

She gives him a look. "Obviously."

He shrugs and the pencil starts up again. She groans loudly and puts her head down on the desk. That pencil will be the death of her. Or maybe that pencil will be the death of _him_.

"Beatrice Prior!" A voice exclaims loudly, making her jerk up in her seat. A piece of chalk hits her forehead and he bursts into laughter next to her. Her eyes cross as she looks up, trying to see the mark on her forehead. Impossible. "Detention not nap time."

She glares at the stupid, Russian, detention teacher. She reaches up and scrubs at the chalk mark on her forehead with the sleeve of her hoodie. She almost gags, the smell of her shirt is so rank it makes her want to throw up on the dusty, tile floors.

"So," Mrs. Amelin says, moving to sit on the edge of her desk. Little belly rolls pudge out from her black and white dress. "Beatrice Prior, Tobias Eaton. Want to tell class why you here?"

"Not particularly." and "What?" is spouted out from the pair at the same time. She rolls her eyes at him.

"That was not option, that was demand." The Russian says sourly.

Tris crosses her arms bitterly over her chest and leans back in her chair, being difficult. Tobias is the one that speaks up.

"Well..."

* * *

_Seven Hours Earlier_

The girl is pretty, way prettier than Tris will ever be.

Tris stands, facing the inside of her locker, trying to distract herself with getting her books so she doesn't look to her left.

Of course, she can't help herself. She just _loves _spying on Peter and his latest conquest, usually Sophomores nowadays. She loves comparing herself to the curvy girls with pretty faces and fashionable clothes. Then, she goes and cries in the girls' bathroom until the late bell rings and she has to book-it to class, which usually happens to be on the top floor while she's on the bottom. God, her life is _amazing_.

This girl is tall, almost as tall as Peter. Tris is probably a foot _shorter _than both. Tris can only see the back of the new girl, but can already tell she's got a bigger butt and a better taste in clothing. Well, everybody does, actually.

It still hurts. It's been a few months, but it still hurts to look at his stupid, gorgeous face and his weekly girlfriend who is obviously better looking than Tris. She can't really describe what she feels when she looks at him. A mix of loathing and an urge to punch his teeth in, but there's also still a feeling a love there. She can't help that. She seriously can't. She's tried.

Just as the girls about to turn around and show Tris her face, her face that's most-likely prettier than hers, Tobias steps in front of the view and leans against the closed locker next to hers. She _almost_ protests, but that would give away the fact that she was spying on Peter's new lady.

Tobias gets it, though. He turns his head a bit and sees the pair down the hall. He gives a low whistle and wiggles an eyebrow at her. "That's rough."

She wants to do some many things to him. Not _that way_, though. She means, like, punching him in the nose, or pinching his ear, giving him a purple-nurple. She wants to tell him to go to Hell, or fuck off, but she decides to not give in to his sick obsession of seeing her angry. He says it's slightly adorable and extremely hilarious. Dickwad. "What do you want, Tobias?"

"Just wanted to know if you were going home with me today." Tobias says. "Your dad wants me to take you job hunting."

She snorts and pulls out a French book, trading out the math textbook for it. "What do you know about job hunting?"

"Nothing." He shrugs. "But, I'm older than you and more experienced in _life_. Plus, if the manager sees you with _me_, you'll get the job right away."

"You're so full of yourself. I'm surprised your head even fits on your shoulders, it's so goddamn big." She rolls her eyes and slams her locker shut. She spins to face Tobias, clutching the stack of books to her chest. "I'm going with Will today. Job hunting another time?"

Then, she turns in the other direction and starts to walk off the class, hoping that Tobias won't follow but-

"So, how are you holding up?" Tobias asks, jogging to keep up with her face pace.

She sighs deeply, feeling her shoulders tense up. That feeling of awkward pressure, like she's being stretched tight with anxiety, started appearing after the drunken kiss Halloween night. The day after, the only thing she remembered fully was that kiss and she hated it. She still regrets it immensely. She remembers the look of utter disappointment when Tris told Tobias to forget it the next morning. The expression was only there for a moment before he joked around and said he hardly even remembered it.

It's been a bit uncomfortable ever since and that was a few weeks ago. Now, it's the day before Thanksgiving and the dinner tomorrow is going to be awful.

"What do you mean?" She gives in to the conversation attempt.

"Football has been over for almost two weeks." He reminds her, now his long strides are hard to keep up with. She swivels around a group of freshman boys. "You look like a fish out of water."

"Thanks." Is all she says. To be honest, she's _almost _glad football ended the first week of November. They didn't make it to the Championship game because they lost the game to qualify them by one point. She almost cried on the field. But, now? She can focus on her studies, which have been overpowering her. Football has always been her number one, she's always cared about her sports more than school work, but she's always been able to maintain a good GPA to stay on the team. She's never failed a test, per say, but she's been getting a lot of C pluses lately and that scares her. So, she hits more books nowadays because her afternoons are free. Mostly because Will has been spending more time with Christina than her, so she's usually alone now.

"Well, what about you?" Tris retorts. He follows her down crowded corridors smelling like teen spirit. "You're the one who eat, sleeps, _breathes _football."

Tobias scoffs nervously. "No I don't. I have a life outside of football, you know."

"Mhhm." She mumbles, chuckling through pursed lips. She walks up to her French classroom's door and turns to face Tobias before entering. "You keep telling yourself that."

* * *

Tris and Tobias are practically attached at the hip, no matter how much they try to deny it.

They live together, go to school together, do homework together at the kitchen island. When they see each other in the hallway, they always walk together until one of them goes where they need to. They even eat lunch together at the table 'reserved' by the football team and the cheerleaders, even though the season is over.

Their lunch table is actually Tris's personal Hell, but she toughs it out like everything else because that's how she is.

She sets her plastic lunch tray on the table and slides into her usual seat between Tobias and Will. Will doesn't even notice, he's too caught up with shoving his tongue down Christina's throat. She cringes and looks away, focusing on munching on her apple, which is pretty much the only edible thing on her tray. God, she hates cafeteria food.

"So," Tobias always starts the conversations at the table. They usually end in verbal insults. "What's the _411_ on Peter Hayes?" He looks directly at Tris.

"I don't know." She sighs and rubs her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "You tell me."

"God, why does he go after younger girls? It's _creepy_." A cheerleader complains. She may have lost her uniform but you can obviously tell she's on the squad from her unusually high ponytail and perky smile. Just looking at her hurts Tris's eyes. "But, at least this time the girl is attractive." She makes eye contact with Tris and her smile widens like she doesn't even realize she insulted Tris.

She snarls at the cheerleader. "I will _fucking _destroy you." The cheerleader looks away, her eyes wide with a mild fear. Tris bites angrily into her apple, chewing harshly.

Nobody defends her except herself. The usual, of course.

"Word on the street is he's getting some from a tech nerd." Tobias informs and grabbing some attention from other members of the table. Tris feels like she's about to puke. "A tech nerd with a great ass, of course."

"God, you really need to stop sounding like a teenage girl." Tris groans and leans back in her chair, uncomfortable with the entire conversation. "It doesn't suit you."

"I could say the same thing to you." Tobias retorts harshly. "Is that why you dress like a guy?"

The words cut through her, soak her like cold water. Never in her life has she felt so extremely embarrassed and hurt, especially because of _Tobias Eaton_. The words do something to her, make her want to punch him or slap him or _something_. She's so fucking sick of running away when people insult her, make her feel like trash, because she's not weak. And she can prove that, too.

So, this time, she doesn't run away and cry in the bathroom. This time, she gets up, picks up her chocolate milk carton, opens it, and dumps the contents of it on Tobias's head with an angry smirk.

She stands with her arms crossed and a proud grin on her face, looking down a chocolate-milk-soaked Tobias with his mouth opening and closing with astonishment, blubbering like a fish waiting for food.

She feels amazing, like _she _holds the power now, until Tobias stands up and pours his own milk on her.

Her hair is stuck against her face while she laughs, surprised that he took the bait, and reaches down to her tray, grabbing her salad that's drenched with ranch dressing. She grabs a sticky handful and smears it roughly on his face and down the front of her shirt.

That's when things get a bit chaotic.

You know those scenes in movies, where two enemies start throwing food at each other, the entire cafeteria is silent with shock, until some kid screams "_Food fight!_" and then everybody joins in, whirling food at their nemesis, but the cameras are solely focused on the main characters who are making intense eye contact while grabbing random foods off random people's trays and throwing it at each other.

Yeah, it's pretty much like that now.

Some kid screams it and the entire room erupts like a volcano. Food is being thrown absolutely _everywhere_. Spearing on walls, getting stuck in people's hair and on their clothes, and prissy girls are screaming about designer brands and hiding under tables.

Meanwhile, Tris and Tobias are in such an intense battle they don't even process that food is flying all around them. And they started it.

They're just shouting nonsense at each other. Tris is screaming about what an asshat he is, he's shouting about how annoying she is, how she ruins everything. She's yelling about dramatic he is, he's calling her a little bitch. Food continues soaring.

She's grabbing handfuls of whatever food is still available on the trays of their table and at some point they're on opposite sides of their table with glares on their faces.

That is until Tobias starts laughing uncontrollably while throwing food and she's starting to join in, too, because it's just so ridiculous.

At one point, Tris picks up an apple unconsciously and fucking _pitches it_ at Tobias's crotch and he's down in .2 seconds, moaning and groaning in pain.

"Tobias, oh my God." She exclaims, bursts of laughter erupting from her mouth as she runs over to him, slipping and sliding all around on food. "Are you and your _manhood _alright?"

She's giggling, covering her mouth with a food-covered hand, which just smears her face with _even more _food. She kneels down next to him and next thing she knows, he's flipped them and she's under him.

"Payback's a bitch." He tells her and scoops up some smushed Jell-O off the floor, smashing it on her head.

Tris looks up at him with a stunned smile on her face. All her anger has subsided, now they're just playing. Like kids.

"You don't look good as a red-head." Tobias informs her, his brows furrowed in faux concentration, but a sly grin in plastered on his food-covered face. He's got lettuce stuck in his hair. She can feel like slimy jello fall down her hair and onto her forehead. That's gonna be a bitch to get out of her hair.

She gives a fake laugh and punches him in the stomach. The air gets knocked out of him and he falls down next to her, giving her the opportunity to climb on top of him and squirt a ketchup packet lying next to him in his brunet hair. "Neither do you."

He laughs and flips her over again, knocking her still-fragile head on the tile. She cries out in pain and he looks alarmed, reaching down to cup the back of her head. She got her staples out a week or two ago, but she's till prone to pain if she hits that spot on something hard. "Are you ok-"

She interrupts his concerned question by smashing a cup of peaches on his shoulder.

He calls out loudly in disgust and that's when both of them realize the cafeteria has gone silent and there is a presence standing before them, looking down at the messy pair.

They both look up at the same time to see their principal, Ms. Matthews, glaring at them, arms crossed over her suit jacket, and her heeled foot tapping away impatiently. Her usually pale face is slowly turning redder with each passing moment. If she were a cartoon, steam would be pouring out of her ears.

"Hi..." They both say at the same time. Their voices fade away nervously. Tobias lifts his hands from the floor, his arms lifting so Tris isn't caged between them. He just sits back, butt almost touching Tris's thighs, but he holds himself up so that doesn't happen.

Tris gulps nervously.

Ms. Matthews gives them a tight, patronizing smile. It disappears as she speaks. "My office. Now."

* * *

After an hour of being verbally abused by Mrs. Amelin, Tris and the other kids in detention are allowed to leave.

"I swear to God, she hit you with chalk _at least _six times." Tobias laughs next to her as they head towards his car, ready to get home and do their school work together, like every day. They weren't allowed to do their work in detention because Amelin made them all write sentences. In cursive.

Tris almost jumped out the window.

When they get to Tobias's fancy car, she starts to take her nasty-ass hoodie off so she doesn't ruin the seats, though she can't say much for her pants. Those are definitely staying on.

"Tobias, can I ask you a question?" Tris starts, her voice a bit muffled as she pulls her jacket over her head. She tosses the dirty hoodie in his drunk and goes to run her fingers in her hair, only to find it stiff and un-moving due to the Jell-O and multiple other foods that made it hard. Gross.

"If you're going to ask how I always look so amazing, even with food stuck literally _everywhere_." Tobias says, pulling off his own shirt. She hates how guys can go shirtless and girls can't. Talk about unfair. "_I_ still don't know the answer to that."

She punches him in the shoulder with all her power and he howls in pain, clutching at it. "It's important!"

They both get in the car at the same time. Tobias puts the keys in the ignition, turns them, and the radio blares. He turns it all the way down and looks at her, waiting for him to continue.

"Do you really think I look like a guy?" She asks sadly.

His voice goes a pitch higher. "No." He clears his throat. "Why do you care what I think?"

"'Cause, as much as I hate to admit, you do get a lot of girls." She tells him. "So, since you're a guy and you know what guys like, if I were a complete stranger that you randomly saw in the grocery store, would you think I was boyish?"

Tobias makes a lot of noises, "Uh," He doesn't know how to not hurt her feelings. He's already done that enough times today.

"Be honest." She pleads.

"Yes..." He admits, his voice nervously high. "But, that doesn't mean some guys aren't into that."

She sighs and looks away from him, leaning her head back against her seat's headrest. "Peter's not."

He looks at her like she just said she wanted to marry Mitt Romney. "Who the fuck cares about _Peter_." Tobias asks. "Peter is literally the dicky-est dick to ever dick."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Why are you still obsessing about Peter?" He asks.

She groans and buries her face in her hands, rubbing at her cheeks. Dried flakes of food shower down on her thighs. "You don't understand."

"So help me to." He shrugs and she peeks at him through her fingers.

"I love him, Tobias." She admits. "After everything he did to me, I still love him. And it's my fault I lost him, now I need to win him back"

_Oh God,_ Tobias thinks. _She's insane. She has gone insane._ "Tris..."

"I don't want you to argue with me." She grumbles. "But, I do need your help."

"Uh..."

"You know what guys like," She reasons again, turning in her seat to face him. He's got a hesitant expression on his face. Her eyes are bright with the new idea. Sometimes he wishes she wasn't so smart and creative. It just makes life harder. "So, help me transform into somebody a guy would drool over."

"You're not thinking realistically." He teases and she smacks his chest with a frown.

"I'm serious!" She exclaims with a pout. "Are you going to help me or not?"

He sighs deeply, his mind at war. The nice thing to do would be to help her, that would allow him to rekindle their fallen friendship. But, transforming her would mean other guys would get her, possibly even _Peter _again. He doesn't know if he can handle that. He probably can't, to be honest. "Okay, whatever." He finally agrees.

"Really?" She squeals and launches herself onto him, hugging him around his neck while his hands hesitantly hold her hips. He's well-aware of her butt right on his lap, but says nothing because she's obviously too caught up in the plan forming in her head to realize.

He already knows he's going to regret agreeing to this.

* * *

**A/N: Hell yeah look how long that fucking chapter is, you're welcome. 3k even without the A/N. **

**YOU GUYS ARE GREAT WE AT ABOUT 130 REVIEWS CAN YOU BELIEVE IT I LOVE YOU GUYS**

**I LOVE YOUUU GUYSSSSS SOOO MUCHHH**

**Okay, that's all I got, I don't really have anything to announce.**

**OH WAIT I did delete both my new stories because I really just wanna stick to one story and fucking conquer it. I wanna finish this before school starts, maybe even before marching band starts, which is on the 20th of July, but don't get your hopes up.**

**Okay that's all, love you! I'll start new stories when I finish this one. I just wanna stick to one for now, though,**

**LoVE YoU GUyS**

**SORRY FOR ANY MISTAKESSS THIS WAS A LONG-ASS CHAPTAH**

**See you soon:)**

**-Scorpiius**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Don't start with me. I know. **

**I've restarted this chapter about three times in the past- what, month? and this is all I got. **

**Marching band is WHOOPING MY ASS and i've got summer work due in a week which I have been procrastinating, obviously...**

**Anyways, I'm back for an update, a very bad update, and don't expect me to stick around. I won't be updating as often as I'd like but life happens. Deal with it. **

**Okay, so enjoy! Missed you guys! We're almost at 200 REVIEWS CAN YOU BELIEVE IT HOLY SHITTTT GUYSS**

**Okay, peace**

**-Scorpiius**

* * *

_One of the Boys: Chapter Eleven _

Tris Prior is tired. Really fucking tired.

Can you blame her, though? The day after Thanksgiving is like waking up with a hangover- pounding headaches and an annoyance level that is rising too high. A little bit of vomit is mixed in there, too.

Too much food, too much football talk, too many guys to deal with.

Caleb came home for the holiday and talked with her about anything, always dishing her up more food then she can handle and practically forcing it down her throat. Tobias was next to her the whole day, even camping out in her room with her when the two older men down stairs decided to battle it out in a game of poker after dinner and too much pie. They passed a sneaky bottle of wine back and forth. It was pink, a 'strawberry' flavor. It burned their throats and tasted like nail polish remover.

Tobias wakes her up the morning after with a loud knuckle against her bedroom door, making her cry out and throw a pillow over her face. "Up!" Tobias sings, tossing the sheets off her body. She curls into a ball, shivering, her head throbbing. "We've got lots to do today!"

"Fuck off, Tobias, I'm not in the mood." She mumbles against her pillow and he tickles her barefoot, making her kick at him. She misses.

Silence follows her request and she peeks her head out from behind the pillow, seeing if he went away. Nope.

He leans against her doorframe, arms crossed, expression indifferent. "Remember that conversation we had, where you _begged_ for my help?" He asks, dramatic as always. "Well, it's either now or never."

She groans, knowing she can't fight him on this.

"I'll meet you in the car in five." He wiggles his fingers and leaves the room.

And, in exactly five minutes she's sliding into his fancy, black car while he messes with the radio. Soon enough, they're on their way to God knows where.

"Buckle your seatbelt." Tobias commands to her after a few minutes of driving. He lowers the radio's volume and the car turns out of their neighborhood, towards the city. You'd think losing your mother to a car accident would make you more cautious driving in a car. Not Tris.

She scoffs and crosses her arms over her chest. Exceedingly stubborn, that girl. One of the qualities he loathes and admires at the same time. "Tris..." He sighs, not taking his eyes off the road but he can still see her stiff frame not moving to buckle up.

So, as they cruise down an empty road of some neighborhood he uses as a shortcut to the city, he slams down on his brakes, a screech following.

Tris's small body flies forward when the car jerks to a sudden stop and she smacks her face against the dashboard, crying out with pain as her cheekbone connects with the car. "What the _fuck_?" She seethes, scrambling back into her seat, holding her face. Her eyes are glassy with pain-tears, but he knows she won't cry, so he doesn't feel guilt. Her safety matters most.

"Buckle your seatbelt." He repeats softly, looking at her with a hint of a smirk on his otherwise pursed lips.

"Fuck you." She says back, but reaches to buckle her seat anyways. He smiles at her and her eyes send him a burning glare. A bit of swelling is already occurring in her cheek. Good luck explaining that to Mr. Prior.

They drive in silence, the radio turned all the way down, the only noise is the traffic happening outside the car. The atmosphere is uncomfortable and he fidgets in it, twitching his thumbs against the steering wheel, trying to focus on the road and not on the now pissed off Tris in the seat next to him.

At last minute he pulls into a Starbucks, angry drivers honking at him, and swerves to the drive-thru. When a voice comes from the speaker, he turns to Tris. "Consider this a peace offering." He sighs softly and her smile is bright and wicked, a winning grin.

Ten minutes later, the car sits in the mall parking lot. Tris sips from her frappe and Tobias stares out the windshield, watching people pass by with their bags. A happy couple stands out to him, giggles and smiles pasted on their bright faces, swinging their clasped hands back and forth. The man carries shopping bags in his free hand.

Tobias silently groans and gets a hold of himself. He's always felt envy for relationships like that. Where two people are always happy, touching, comfortable together, never wanting to be apart. He's always wanted that, to be with someone who would never want to leave him. I guess you could blame his need for affection on his parent issues.

A quiet tapping noise draws his attention back to the problem at hand: Tris. Her bitten down fingernails tap obnoxiously against the center console and she stares out her window absentmindedly, sucking on her straw.

Tobias clears his throat and Tris jumps slightly, turning to face him, pulling her knees to her chest.

"There are six key components to becoming a girl." Tobias begins his lecture. Tris watches his face with squinted eyes before turning back to her drink. "Clothes, makeup, hair, flirting, partying, and just acting like a girl in general."

Tris, who became uninterested at the word 'makeup', focuses her attention to her drink, sucking out the remnant of her drink, making obnoxious straw-slurping sounds. "Tris." Tobias groans, running a hand through his hair with frustration.

"What?" She asks and lets out a loud belch, making his noise scrunch with disgust. She just bursts into laughter while he stares at her with an indifferent look.

"Are you even a girl?"

She considers the question for a moment. "Yeah, Mother Nature reminds me every month." Tris snorts and pops the lid off her cup, putting her finger in and scooping out some of the whipped cream on the bottom. Tobias forces himself to look away when the finger goes in her mouth to get the cream off.

He clears his throat, once again. "Tris, last time I checked you asked me for help." He reminds her and she still looks bored. He turns his key in the ignition, starting the car with a purr. "Fine, if you're gonna be that way, I'm taking you home. I have better things to do."

That snaps her attention. She slams the cup into a cup holder, splashing drink around it. "No!" She reaches forward and grips his hands, getting onto her knees like she's about to pray. "No! I'm sorry. I'll stop! I need your help."

He can tell from the embarrassed pink blush on her cheeks that she means what she says.

"We're starting with clothes today." Tobias tells her, discreetly eyeing their clasped hands. Neither of them pull away. "Let's just hope I can make it through today without killing myself."

* * *

When Tobias drags her into Victoria's Secret to begin their shopping expedition, she realizes that she's made a huge mistake.

Of course, she has no girl friends to do this with and God forbid Will could tell her what men do and don't like. _He _doesn't even know what he likes and doesn't. Tobias was the most reasonable choice, a ladies man who knows exactly what he wants for everything is just what she was looking for, but now she regrets even coming up with the stupid plan.

She almost, _almost _whines when he grabs her hand and pulls her in the direction of the lingerie, but she stops herself, knowing Tobias is already fed up with her enough. She surrenders and only tugs on his hand a little bit, making him squeeze back.

He struts through the store like he knows the layout of the store by heart. People turn their heads to look at the ridiculously attractive male dragging a little boy- no, a little _girl _through an sexy panties shop.

"Marlene!" Tobias calls out cheerfully, stopping in front of a brunette sorting through an underwear drawer. She turns, sees the man who called out to her, and a smile lights up her face. She giggles, jumps a bit on her heels, and throws herself into his arms.

Tobias lets go of Tris's hand to envelope the girl fully and Tris steps back, a sudden coldness washing over her. She eyes the girl with a slight curl of the lip. She's wearing black. Black dress pants, a black blazer, black heels. Her blouse is a neon pink though, making Tris's eyes burn.

The girl is giggling madly, balancing on her high heels. Her brown ringlets flow perfectly down her back.

When the two separate, Tris watches Tobias's hand fall to the girls lower back and she makes no move to remove it, she's comfortable, as if she's used to it. He gestures to the blonde. "Mar, this is Tris." He announces and Tris makes to move to be friendly towards the brunette. "Tris needs all the help she can get right now, so I've brought her to the best." He bops Marlene on the nose with a finger, making her giggle and blush. Again.

"Oh, stop!" She says, though her voice reveals that she doesn't mind it at all. She focuses her attention on Tris. "Nice to meet you!" Her voice is genuine, surprising Tris, and Marlene's hand is held out in front of her, awaiting a handshake. Her nails are long, purple talons.

Tris takes the dainty hand with caution, holding it for a few moments, shaking twice, before letting go.

An awkward silence surrounds the three before Tobias breaks the silence, clearing his throat slightly. "I'll leave you girls to it." He says and grins at Tris before Marlene lets out an ever-occurring giggle, grabs her hand, and drags her into the terrifying world of pink, bedazzled panties.

* * *

Tris is in absolute Hell.

You know when you imagine your own personal Hell, well, this is Tris's. Being stuck in Victoria's Secret with a too-bubbly brunette employee, whilst trying on multiple bras and being taught the different types of underwear and why each has its own _special purposes_. She's about ready to wrap a bra strap around her neck and hang herself from a light fixture.

Tris stares at herself in the mirror, looking at the way her body has more muscle than fat, no curves or anything. Her upper body is naked except for a black, lacy push-up squeezing her titties in the most uncomfortable way possible. This is why she prefers sports bras.

She's always hated her body. From the age of 12, she's always looked in the mirror and despised the way her hips were straight, like a board, while her female classmates were developing more curves. Growing up, muscle conquered fat due to the multiple sports she played. She never had the fat she always wished she possessed. That's what happens when your life revolves around football instead of gossip magazines and makeup. Her mother was never able to teach her anything different than what her male housemates engraved in her head.

She sighs and turns away from the mirror, opening her dressing room door and stepping out.

Marlene claps and smiles. Everything she does is joyous and bright and surprising genuine, like she doesn't have a bad bone in her body. Everything is just sunshine and butterflies and shoe sales. "You look amazing!" She tells the blonde. "What do you think?"

Tris shrugs. She's been shrugging to every question Marlene has asked. She doesn't know how she's supposed to feel about these highly expensive bras. They're just boob holders, are they all so different and important?

Marlene's smile drops to disappointment, but only for a moment before it's back and she's thrusting another bra at Tris and pushing her back into the dressing room.

"So," Marlene's voice drifts past the door, attempting to start a conversation with the little blonde for the umpteenth time. "What's up with you and Tobias?"

Tris can tell by the tone of her voice that she's been dying to ask the question since Tris and Tobias strolled into the store and up to her.

"Friends." Tris offers. It's the obvious and less complicated answer. What else is she supposed to say; Somewhat brother? A crush since childhood? A little prick that hangs around her house and eats all her food and annoys her constantly? "Team mate."

Marlene laughs, a laugh not a giggle. It's cute and breezy and not as obnoxious as her constant giggles. "Team mates don't take each other bra shopping." Marlebne reminds her and her voice turns eager. "Is there something between you guys?"

Tris rolls her eyes at the brunette's excitement for a good love story. If you could call it that.

"Not that I know of." Tris says, adjusting the new bra on her. It's a blood red, making her feel uncomfortably erotic.

"Hmm..." Marlene hums and the blonde figures that isn't a good thing. "I have an idea."

* * *

All Tobias wanted to do today was go shopping with Tris and get her plan going. He just wanted to get in and out of the mall, maybe grab some dinner, and then go home for their movie night.

No, that can't happen, of course. He can't be in a mall for five minutes without getting hit on, he can't relax. And now their movie night is going to be a disaster because Tobias is now uncomfortable.

What do you expect, though? A handsome teenage boy walks into a Victoria Secret and he is left alone until it's time to go? He can just relax and wait until Tris has what she needs.

No. That doesn't happen.

"Can I help you?" A voice says perkily from behind him and he jumps in surprise. A dark-skinned female stands in front of him, dressed in what Marlene was wearing but with an intense green blouse instead of pink. He blinks. The color hurts his eyes. Jesus, if this is what Tris is going to turn into when they're finished, he doesn't even want to continue their little project.

"No, I'm good." He replies, remembering to be polite and not snap at the girl. "Thank you."

"Are you waiting for someone." She asks, edging a bit closer to him. Her heels click on the ground and a piece of glossy, black hair is being twirled around her index finger.

She's attractive, sure, but unfortunately Tobias has a thing for overly-muscular, short blondes. It's a gift and a curse.

"Yup." He answers her, avoiding her eyes because if you make eye contact that means you're encouraging the female's flirtations and they'll assume there's a chance.

"Well, we don't want you to be lonely." The girl says, a tiny pout on her thick lips. "Do you want some company?"

"Nope." Tobias says bluntly. God, when he gets home he's rating Victoria's Secret one star on Yelp because this place obviously cares more about making customers uncomfortable than helping them.

He doesn't get to hear the girl's reply though because he spots his tiny blonde coming towards him and when he runs a glance down her frame all thoughts and worries and nags fly out of his mind to somewhere unknown. His only thought is her.

The little girl doesn't look like the Tris he came in with. She's struts towards him with a confident vibe, her long hair blowing back behind her shoulders like a model in a wind storm. She's wearing tight leggings instead of her knee-length basketball shorts, a low-cut tank instead of her large, white t-shirt. And her _boobs_. Tobias can finally admit that he is a boob guy. Or, at least, Tris's-boobs guy because _damn_.

He finally realizes she's stopped in front of him with a slight smirk forming on her pink lips and his mouth is probably blubbering open and closed like a fish out of water.

"Uh," Tobias mumbles, reaching up to run a shaky hand through his hair. "Uh, um, wow..."

Tris frowns slightly and then begins to mock him. "_Uh, uh, um, wow._" Marlene bursts into a fit of laughter that she tries to stifle behind her tiny hand. "Seriously?"

"What else am I supposed to say?" Tobias asks, the tips of his ears turning pink.

"Anything _but_ that." She laughs and he rubs the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle.

After a moment of silence between them he speaks again. "Are you ready?" He asks. "I wanna get out of here."

"Hey, you dragged _me_ in here." She reminds him but turns on her heel and follows Marlene back to where they came from.

When her stuff is paid for, they head towards the front to leave and go somewhere else in the large shopping center. More torture.

She grips his hand and swings their arms happily, a shopping bag in her free hand. She still wears the leggings and shirt, though, having paid for it still on her body.

Tris is stopped, though, by Tobias pinning her against a pillar at the front of the store. Tris's heart pounds so harshly in her chest, she figures he can hear from how close he is. Her shallow breath is against his neck and he leans down, brushing their noses slightly before whispering in her ear. "You look good, Tris."

He brushes a hand up her side, her shirt being tugged up and his warm hand connects with her bare skin, making her pant, before letting go all together and heading out of the store, forcing Tris to follow with a dazed expression and a questioning mind.

* * *

**A/N: TAADAAA YOU'RE WELCOME**

**ABOUT 20 MORE REVIEWS UNTIL 200 CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT GUYSSS?**

**Anyways, sorry for any mistakes I hate rereading chapters trying to pick out mistakes. ugh. **

**Btw, if anyone is wondering 'wtf how is she is leggings and a tank if she's in victoria secret and they only sell panties and sexy pjs.' Well children in my mall my VS and Pink and connected so it's possible to get those clothes and lingerie at the same time! just in case anyones confused. **

**OKAY BYEEEE LOVES**

**I LOVE YOUUUUU SO MUCH  
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**SEE YOU NEXT TIME;)**

**-Scorpiius**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: WELCOME BACKKKKKK**

**200+ REVIEWS GUYS WTFFFFFFFF I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH THIS IS INCREDIBLEE! **

**So, because of said 200 plus reviews, I am updating ahead of time because I feel guilty for leavving ya hanging. You guys deserve it, though you might hate me for this chapter... oops. **

**Okay, sorry for any mistakes. My long- ass acrylics make it hard to hit the right letter. Sorry.**

**I love you all and enjoy:)**

**Btw, for the people who wanted to know, I play clarinet:)**

**-Scorpiius**

* * *

_One of the Boys: Chapter Twelve _

"Oh my god, I've created a fucking monster."

Tobias leans forward in the purple armchair sitting adjacent to her dressing room, putting his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. He looks at the blonde in front of him. She resembles a girl he knows. She has blonde hair and big, stormy eyes. She has a tiny figure and hides herself under his old t-shirts. This... This is not the girl he knows.

This girl has a straight back and a confident smirk, though a familiar annoyed expression is plastered on her face. She has on a tight, black dress and she's about four inches taller from the red pumps adorning her feet.

He stares at the girl, wondering if Tris is in a different changing room. He waits for a complaint to echo through the dressing area from behind another door because this girl certainly _can't _be Tris, can it?

His heart plummets and races at the same time, which has to be a pretty unhealthy condition, as her arrogant smirk disappears and is replaced with a frown, a frown so familiar he knows that this is his girl, not a stranger. He sighs, disappointed to see such a different girl in front of him, but overjoyed to be witnessing how beautiful she looks in all these tight dresses. It's more disappointment, though. The Tris he knows wouldn't change herself for a male.

Tobias clears his throat after moments of silence, obvious that Tris isn't going to be the one to make the first comment. "The red clashes with your hair." He tells her, trying to get his arrogant tone back, but looking at her is making his voice droop with a weird sadness.

The blonde rolls her eyes, making his stomach swim. Typical behavior that gets him every time. "It's a pair of fucking shoes."

"So I've realized." He replies, leaning back in the chair to look casual. "No."

At the one word, Tris grumbles something and seconds later her door slams shut as she locks herself inside. The sound of heels being kicked off and hitting the wall vibrates loudly throughout the marble changing area, making him cringe. Those shoes are worth more than his entire wardrobe put together, so she better not break a heel and make him pay for a messed up shoe.

"When the hell did you become a fashion expert?" Tris asks snidely from inside her room.

"Everyone's a fashion expert compared to you." Tobias snaps back, sensing that she's probably rolling her eyes right now. "_Your dad _is a fashion expert compared to you."

She belts out a fake laugh and seconds later the black dress she was trying on flies over her door and onto Tobias's face. He whips it off and throws it back over with frustration and agitation evident in his tone of voice. "Can you ever not act like a child?"

"_Can you ever not act like a child?_" Tris mocks back and Tobias seethes in the purple arm chair. The room goes silent after that, the only noise is the sound of hanger clicking together.

Soon enough, Tris is opening her door with another frown etched on her face, holding a pile of clothes. She's back in her basketball shorts and t-shirt, not wanting to ruin her new clothes by wearing them around the mall where could spill something on them and look like a mess.

Tobias stands up from the chair, clutching her shopping bags, and she dumps the unwanted clothes on the seat. She leaves the changing rooms without another word, her nose in the air, leaving Tobias no choice but to follow her while heaving the mass of shopping bags around.

The pair leaves BCBG without any new bags, surrounded in an uncomfortable and tense silence. They've been shopping together for almost five hours now and as the hours progress, their attitudes towards each other grow more sour. Tris becomes bitchy and Tobias becomes bossy and neither one of them want to be there.

Tris walks along beside him, obviously avoiding looking in his general direction so not to make eye contact. Her mouth is in an agitated line and her forehead is lined with little wrinkles. Tobias's expression is almost identical.

Eventually, he can't take the uncomfortable atmosphere anymore. He's always hates fighting with her because she's so fucking stubborn so God forbid she'd be the one to apologize first, even if it's her fault in the first place.

Tobias grabs her elbow, letting the shopping bag handles slide down his arm and cut off his circulation so he can steer her into the line of a pretzel stand. He reaches for his wallet, struggling a bit with the bags, while Tris gives him an odd look.

"This is a form of apology." Tobias explains at last, sending over a shy smile to her.

"Why is it that you always buy me food whenever something happens." She jokes lightly and he almost sighs in relief. The pretzel apology thing was just a shot in the dark.

"You're easy to win over if there's food in the matter." Tobias replies as the line moves and the tension surrounding them disappears more with each passing second.

Her smile is big and bright, unlike the arrogant smirk in BCBG, and he likes this grin better because it's natural and nice and he likes familiar things, which is why he only washes his clothes in one scent of detergent and never changes his room around. Familiar things are the best things because even though you know them, you never get sick of them if you love them hard enough.

Her grin dims after a few seconds and the usual frown reappears, a look of concentration wrinkling her forehead. She looks down at her feet and her toes wiggle nervously in her flip flops. When she looks up again, achieving eye contact, her stormy eyes are glassy, almost like she's going to cry. The thought of Tris bursting into tears while they wait in line for a hot pretzel makes him panic.

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch." She whispers to him, the words almost inaudible. He leans closer to hear her, catching the scent of his cologne on her t-shirt. Well, _his _t-shirt. He's never minded her going into his room and stealing his clothes, he finds it almost endearing and majorly adorable. But now that she's becoming a _girl _she won't need to take his clothes. It's slightly upsetting.

"You're fine, Tris." Tobias assures her and they both move a couple steps forward as the line shortens. Jesus, what pretzel line is this long? "Shopping isn't the most enjoyable activity."

Tris looks at him with an odd emotion covering her face. Her eyes are wide and she looks almost _startled_. "I mean in general."

He doesn't have a chance to reply as the people in front of them leave and Tobias is forced to step up to the counter and order, abandoning the serious conversation he wouldn't mind continuing. He's always felt the need to reassure her, it's his fault they're like this anyways. He still remembers the day he totally fucked up their relationship. It haunts him and he never wants to relive it, he wants to move past it and hopefully Tris can let him and they can have a nice friendship without bringing up the past.

Yeah. Maybe.

* * *

Tobias watches in horrible as Tris dunks a handful of fries in her blob of ketchup and shoves the entirety of it in her mouth.

"Where the fuck do you keep it all?" The brunet asks as she chews and swallows. She then picks up her cup of soda and gulps it down. He surveys the blonde's eating habits with utter disgust and a slight admiration.

Tris doesn't answer, she just looks at him with intense eye contact and burps loudly. She bursts into giggles while Tobias rolls his eyes, not revealing how he's secretly happy about Tris's new joyous attitude. It's better than seeing her upset.

Their time spent in the mall is now rounding on seven hours and you can see the setting sun through the windows on the mall ceiling. After the pretzel stand, they went into more stores with Tris trudging along, a slight whine every now and again, but she perked up when he mentioned a 'snack'. Tris ordered a large fry and a burger and Tobias knew Mr. Prior would scold him for bringing her home with no appetite during dinner, but he decided to take his chances when Tris gave him puppy-eyes. God damn those puppy-eyes.

Tris dunks another fry into the red condiment as Tobias begins a lecture about proper eating etiquette. He's not sexist, he would never use the term 'lady-like' because it's bullshit, but Tris does need to learn manners. And not just because she's trying to become a proper, basic female.

"So," Tris begins, swallowing her mouthful of fries and chasing it down with her drink. "Is this all we're doing tonight? Just clothes?"

"I think it's all you can handle." Tobias snorts, trying to make a joke but she sends him a death glare and he shuts his mouth.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tris asks, nose in the air like a little snob. All he can think is _oh God_.

The brunet clears his throat with a twinge of awkwardness. "Nothing. I didn't mean it in a_ bad_ way." He reasons lamely and she crosses her arms over her chest, not convinced. "You just, ya know, whined and complained a lot. I figured you'd want a break."

"I can _handle _another lesson, Tobias." Tris says. "I don't need a break. Do _you _need a break?"

He scoffs loudly and replies with an eye roll. "I don't need a break." He assures then smirks wickedly, the grin automatically scaring her. "If you can handle anything, can I propose a _bet_ then?"

She scoffs back. "What do I look like, a pussy?" Tobias cringes slightly as her vulgar language, but her face is unchanged even though he knows she despises that word. "Of course you can."

He leans back in his chair, thinking hard. What can give him a good laugh all while embarrassing her so much she'll never challenge him? Well, probably nothing. She's hard as stone and braver than him. But it'll be entertaining.

"If you _can't_ get the number's of six guys, you have to go to prom and flash the entire student body on stage." Tobias tells her, a satisfied smile on his handsome face. She narrows her eyes, thinking hard on what he can do to embarrass himself. She can win the fucking bet even though she's in the ugliest outfit on Earth. It's what's on the inside that counts, of course.

"And if I _can_, you have to go up to receive your diploma _butt-ass fucking naked_." She matches his expression of satisfaction.

Tobias considers the proposal for a while. The thought of walking onto the stage to get his certificate of education with his _thing_ flopping everywhere is terrifying, but it's Tris. The girl who wears baggy clothes and has no manners and no flirtatious bone in her tiny body. He won't admit to be confident, but he's pretty confident.

"You play a hard game, Beatrice Prior." He holds his hand out to here to shake and she grips it tightly, a confident shake that he rolls his eyes at.

"That's not the only thing that will be hard by the end of tonight." Tris says confidently and pushes her chair back from the table. She begins to walk away from him, before turning her head a bit to look at him. "And, don't call me that."

As she sashays away from him, the only thing on his mind is: _was that a fucking dick joke?_

* * *

She starts to loose confidence by her tenth male.

She's gotten one guy's number. He gave it to her with a face red with laughs that he was keeping held in. She figures it's fake, considering all his buddies were nudging each other and giggling as he wrote it down, but digits are digits. It's not like she's going to text him, anyways.

Her confidence is completely gone by the thirtieth.

She's only gotten four numbers and an hour has passed. She sees Tobias out of the corner of her eye, chuckling with a hand covering his smiling mouth. She narrows her eyes. Bastard.

Tris approaches a blond male with tired steps, but attempts to make her face look sultry. She's seen it in the movies, obviously this has to work.

She gives a smile as the man looks up from his cellphone and stares at her with a surprised expression. She doesn't blame him. She most likely looks absolutely fucking insane.

"Hey, baby, if you were an elevator, which button would I have to push to make you go down?" Tris says bluntly with a wink and the guy's eyes widen, looking like a deer in headlights. He takes a step back and she drops her sexy act. God, she can not afford to have another run away.

"Wait!" Tris yelps and touches the guy's arm and she feels him freeze under her. She cringes and quickly lets go. "Wait, I'm so sorry. That was so inappropriate of me." She makes a note to never use pick-up lines ever again when talking to the opposite sex. "Listen, I kind of made a bet with my friend. Could you do me a favor and give me your number, maybe even laugh a bit, make it look authentic?" The man shuffles back a bit more. "I promise I won't call you, but I seriously think I've tried every normal-looking male in this mall and I seriously _don't _wanna flash my tits to my classmates at prom, so I really just-"

The blond guy holds up a hand, a crazed and annoyed look pasted on his face. She silences herself, clamping her mouth closed.

"If I give you my number, will you shut the fuck up?" The male asks. She's a bit taken aback by the guy's rudeness but nods eagerly, not declining a number she so dearly needs even if the dude is an asshole.

He takes a pen out of his pocket, a bit random to Tris but whatever, and writes his number on the back of her hand while she bounces slightly on the balls of her feet. Maybe she should just annoy the guy until he just gives it up! That would quicker and easier.

The male fakes a laugh and waves as Tris walks away, back towards Tobias. She waves the back of her hand in his direction, showing off the fifth number. One more to go.

"I have to say," Tobias admits as they walk around the first floor of the mall slowly while Tris tries to sort out her next victim. "I'm a bit impressed. That dude looked like he wanted to murder you."

"It pays to be annoying." Tris brags and flips her long ponytail with arrogance. She looks across the mall. "I see a potential client. I'll be back."

Tobias shakes his head as she takes off to the other side of the shopping corridor. He doesn't follow, just takes a seat on the bench near by, ready to watch Tris embarrass herself once again. It's a new hobby of his.

Tris struts across the mall with a new-found energy, ready to win this bet and get home to movie night with Tobias so she can brag to him about how she's the champion of literally everything. She heads straight towards the redhead with a slight smirk, knowing this will be it.

Unfortunately, she doesn't make it to the redhead.

Instead, she fails to notice the wet floor sign a few feet away and her feet slip on spilled water and she looses her balance, tumbling down into the puddle and knocking the wind out of her as she lands on her back, luckily not hitting her head. We all know what happened last time.

_Jesus fucking Christ why does this keep happening?_ Tris wonders, putting a hand on her head as she tries to breathe evenly. Her chest and back ache and a few people crowd around her. _It's becoming embarrassing._

"Jesus, are all right?" A startled male voice asks and she feels her hand being held and her body is pulled into sitting position. Her eyes focus on the handsome, tan guy kneeling in front of her, probably getting his pants all wet from the water on the floor. "Quite a fall. Can you stand?"

Tris nods and the man puts another hand on her lower back and pulls her up. She feels herself blush at the physical contact and shivers when his warm hands leave her. His smile is radiant and she tries to copy it, to show she's fine, but she's feeling a bit overwhelmed and all she can do it sigh, her back still throbbing.

"Uriah Pedrad, your lord and savior." The male jokes and Tris takes a quick glace up and down his body. His tan skin is almost brown and his hair is the color of coffee beans, as well as his eyes. He holds out a hand to shake.

"Tris Prior." She says with narrowed eyes, a bit skeptical for no reason other than he's an attractive male who's actually looking at her like she's a human being.

She grips his hand and he shakes it eagerly. He reminds her of a huge puppy. Like, Clifford the Big Red Dog, but extremely tan and with a six-pack. Probably. How weird would a dog look with a six-pack, though?

Soon enough, Tobias is rushing towards her, all her shopping back piled in his arms. His face is panicked and he skids to a stop near the puddle so he doesn't slip like she just did. "You okay? I saw you fall and I don't wanna say it was funny but it was pretty-" He pauses and looks at the male shaking her hand. "Uriah?"

"Tobias Eaton!" Uriah Pedrad says happily and he lets go of Tris's hand to 'bro-hug' Tobias. "Long time no see, bud. Didn't even see you at the Halloween bash."

"Oh, I was there." Tobias assures and sends a playful glare towards Tris. She automatically blushes at the mention of that night. "Had to leave a bit early, though. Had some stuff to get done."

"That doesn't sound like the Tobias I know." The tan boy says, nudging Tobias's shoulder with a fist. Tris shakes her head, never being able to understand the male species and their odd conversation habits.

He shrugs. "What can I say? I'm a changed man."

Tris snorts a bit at that and Uriah looks at her with a small smile and sends her a discreet wink. "Well, I'll tell you what, man." Uriah says, turning his attention away from Tris and back onto his male pal. "You come to my party this Friday and I'll forgive you for leaving my Halloween bash early."

Tobias jokingly considers it. "It's a deal, dude." They 'bro-hug' one more time before Uriah turns to Tris.

"Hopefully I'll be seeing you there, too?" He asks Tris, an eyebrow raised and she can't help but think how sexy that is. "But, just in case you can't wait till Friday, how about I give you my number?"

She grins manically and then loosens her face, probably looking like a maniac. She sends Tobias a wicked grin, knowing she just won the entire thing and on accident, even! "That'd be great, thanks." Tris says coolly and pulls her phone out of the pocket in her basketball shorts. She unlocks it, creates a new contact, and hands it over all while Tobias shakes his head besides her, probably gearing up a speech about how she's cheated, but she just beat him at his own game.

* * *

**A/N: Woah, imma stop it here even tho I had more planned. Oops. Expect a shorter chapter next time...**

**Okay guys, once again I will repeat how amazing you guys are. I fucking love ya'll so damn much.**

**So let's get something straight. I have no idea what Uriah truly looks like. I haven't read the books in ages but I always remember writing him as a ridiculously tan male, like Mediterranean tan or whatever. Like, 'I go the the tanning beds at least twice a day and I live in Cali right near the beach' tan. I am not a racist because I refuse to write him as a black guy, I just never pictured him like that, okay? And I will continue to write him like that because I feel like it and I like it that way. I hope you can deal. **

**Anyways, sorry for any mistakessssssss. Love you all so so so so so so so much. So much. **

**Also, I plan to have about 22 or 24 chapters, but it depends on what happens. I'm really excited to finish this up cause I got this wicked ass new story idea but this will always come first. I really just want to finish this story. I promise I will. Hopefully sometime this year. **

**Okay, see you next time:)**

**btw, school starts next week so don't expect quick updates. I'll try at least once a week. TRY.**

**-Scorpiius**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I'M BACK BITCHESSSSSS**

**Hello and a Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americanos and those who feel the joyous holiday in their bonesssss**

**I won't be back long, but I'm here #2inthemorningrn and I probably won't have time to update anymore over TG break, I'll actually be gone the last few days of break #ColumbusOhiobound:( but I'm updating RIGHT NOWWWW FINALLY CAUSE I MISSED U GUYS AND WRITING SO MUCH::::((((((**

**anyways, U SEE THOSE REVIEWS, BROS? YEA, THEY'RE FUCKING AMAZING AND I LOVE U ALLLLLL::::)))))) KEEP IT UP;)**

**ENJOY (sorry for any mistakes) and I'll see you next time;)**

**-Scorpiius**

* * *

_One of the Boys: Chapter Thirteen_

"Can you stop kicking me?" Tris Prior asks after a fifth thud lands on her left calf. She throws down her pencil as the brunet across from her starts to snicker, his eyes never leaving the computer's keyboard but his tiny laughs giving him away. She stares at his chocolate brown hair, urging him to lift his head so she can give him her famous bitch-glare.

The noise of the bustling cafe surrounds her comfortingly and Tris soon feels her tiny prick of frustration drift away and she looks back down at her homework and picks up her pencil, believing Tobias's annoying, childish kicks are done for.

Another thump is delivered to her leg from the toe of a shoe and she feels the tolerance chord in her break. She snaps the lid of his laptop down in a flash, onto the fingers moving across the keys. Tobias cries out in pain and snatches his hands away from the gadget and Tris leans back in the wooden chair she's occupying, thoroughly satisfied.

"Why?" He exclaims, nursing his hands to his chest and his eyes widen in a manic expression.

"You know why!" Tris shoots back, crossing her arms over her torso. She's always liked this cafe; the local Starbucks were usually too full to find a table, and the coffee was cheaper, even including the tips she left for the servers. It was constantly moving and boisterous, a lively background noise for when she forgot her headphones and the atmosphere made her calmer, despite the fact Tobias always found a way to annoy her every visit.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tobias says stubbornly and Tris narrows her stormy eyes at him.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, you fucking pr-"

"Can I get you guys a refill?" A joyful voice interrupts her and a teenage boy in the cafe's uniform points to their half-empty mugs. Tris turns her heads to the server and gives a smile.

"Sure, thank you." She says cooly, shaking off her anger so she doesn't blow up on this innocent employee. The pair hands over their mugs and the boy turns away. She turns back to her 'study partner'. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you?"

"What?" He asks obliviously.

"Do you get off on being an asshole?"

His face lights up with an immature smirk. "Only if it's to you."

"You're disgusting."

"_You're _disgusting."

"Yeah? Well, at least I'm mature."

"_At least I'm mature._" He mocks her with a high-pitched voice

"See, that is exactly what I'm talking about."

"You're the one that's always a-"

Two mugs of coffee get set down on their wooden table, the cups overflowing with whipped cream dusted with cinnamon. Tris breathes in and out deeply after the kind server-boy walks away and Tobias grabs his mug, starting on the whipped cream before taking a sip.

They drink their coffee quietly, their homework spread out in front of them and untouched. After about five minutes, the pair seems to calm themselves and Tobias starts to pack up his stuff, throwing it messily in his black backpack.

The blonde gently sits her half-empty cup down in front of her, wiping her lip to rid of any whipped cream. "Where are you going?"

"_We're _going job hunting. Your dad asked me to drive you to some different places today after you finished your homework." He glances down at her mess left on the table still. "That's obviously not happening right now." He drops his bag on the floor and stretches out of his chair, digging a hand in his pocket. He fishes out a twenty and thrusts it towards her. "Go pay. I'll get your stuff."

She's a bit scared of the thought of Tobias packing her stuff up, knowing she's spent hours trying to organize everything and he's most likely going to shove everything into her bag, crumpling important papers and bend folders. She goes to the counter anyways.

"How was everything today, miss?" The cashier says, twisting a diamond stud in her earlobe while she rings up Tris's bill.

"Good, as always." The blonde offers and the girl gives a proud smile. Tris watches a strand of blue hair fall from the messy bun and land right in her face, the hair blowing gently with the girl's breath. She hands her the twenty and buttons on the cash register click and bang as the girl digs out her change.

"Have a nice day!" The girl says cheerfully, a hint of disdain in her voice. Tris figures that's not directed towards her, it's to the job. The blonde gives her a shy, tight smile and begins to turn when she sees a piece of paper taped on the register. She looks back at Tobias, who's giving her a curious, impatient expression. Tris turns back to the girl with the colorful hair.

"Are you hiring?"

* * *

Tris flips through the stack of applications for the fifth time, mentally counting all the pieces of paper to make sure one didn't run away. Ten. Ten job applications. Ten chances to do something different.

She thinks to herself as the car bumps along the road and the familiar scenery passes by. She hears the sound of his breathing in the silent car and the small taps as his index finger hits against the steering wheel. The sun sets over the shops in a hazy red and Tris runs a finger over the corners of her applications, distracted with her thoughts.

The silence of the car is broken by the ringing of his phone and he reaches for the buzzing electronic in the cub holder, never taking his eyes of the road.

"Helloo?"

She furrows her eyebrows at the usual greeting, just now noticing he's used the same one for everyone. Never changing. She furrows her eyebrows even more at his next word.

"Mom?"

Tobias has never had a stellar relationship with his mother, Tris knows that and she has since she could understand that, and he doesn't even _know _his father, just his name: Marcus. Countless, mindless searches have occurred in the middle of the night when they were kids and Tobias would be spending the night. They would sneak down to Mr. Prior's office and try to find Tobias's father. After years of searching when they were kids, he just gave up and never tried again.

"Yeah, sure, that's fine." He tells his mother through the phone, his voice exasperated and obviously not in the mood for an argument. "Really? Are-" He sends a quick glance towards Tris. "Are you sure? Okay. Yeah. Five minutes, probably. Okay."

Tobias twists his wheel and speeds into a McDonald's parking lot, cars honking at him. Tris grips the handle above her seat in pure terror as he jerks wheel and turns out of the lot, going in the opposite direction they were heading. "Change of plans." He finally offers. She frowns, knowing now that the movie they were about to go see is now out of the agenda for the night. "My mother has requested us for dinner."

* * *

Showing up to the Eaton household in jeans and a t-shirt is basically a sin to the proper family, but the pair took their chances, way too lazy to stop next door to swap their clothes. Their shoes were muddy from the rain and the cream entryway rug soon became filthy as they kicked off their sneakers before venturing down the hall into the kitchen.

Tris always feels like she's entering a different world when she walks into Evelyn's house. She not used to such normality. Sure, both families lived in the same, middle-class neighborhood, but while the Prior household was messy from the two teenagers living there, the Eaton residence was neat and always glowing with warm light from the multiple chandeliers hanging everywhere. And it always seemed to smell like a Bath and Body Works during the fall season when all they sold was pumpkin everything.

Evelyn gave up her first marriage's name when they first moved to Tris's neighborhood and went with her surname, Johnson. Now that she has a new rock on her finger, though, she goes with her newest husband's name, Watts. Like a lightbulb. Tris has always called it the Eaton house even though Evelyn was never an Eaton when she moved here, but Tobias has always had his father's name.

"My Tobias!" A cheery voice exclaims as they enter hesitantly into the kitchen, the smell of something Italian invading their nostrils. They never liked their visits to Evelyn's, but at least they went home full of good food.

"Mom." The brunet says with a tight smile as she envelopes her tall son into her tiny arms. He gives a look at Tris over his mother's head, causing Tris to smile into her hand.

She takes her time giving him a hug and after long, awkward seconds, she finally steps back and turns to the blonde guest.

"Tris." She says kindly and her arms spread as she gets ready to hug her, but Tris holds her hand out the last second. Evelyn gives her a puzzled look and shakes her hand, but Tris isn't fooled. Evelyn knows damn well that Tris has disliked her greatly even since she got married to a new man without even taking Tobias into consideration. The whole ordeal was messy. That was when Tobias got a bed put into Caleb's room and clothes put in the closet and he formed a hard shell around his heart when it came to his mother.

"Mrs. Watts." Tris replies stiffly, dropping her hand back down to her side.

The brunet woman tucks a curly behind her ear and smiles. "You can call me Evelyn, Tris."

"No, thanks." She says coldly and Tobias sends her a smirk. He's always admired her ability to stand up to the people he feels small in front of.

Evelyn clears her throat as an uncomfortable atmosphere envelopes them. "You two can go sit down." She says, trying to paste a smile on her face. "The lasagna is almost ready."

Tris leads him to the dining room by taking him by the hand, knowing he needs the small gestures of support to keep him floating. She pulls out has chair for him and he laughs, just like she intended him to.

They don't talk, they only sit next to each other, gripping hands under the cherrywood table, listening to the hush voices in the kitchen and the slam of cabinet doors. Tris views the dining room while the husband and wife make their way into the room, carrying silverware and food. The pair doesn't offer to help, even as they make multiple trips back and forth to get salad dressing and shaky cheese.

When everyone settles in, Evelyn is relentless. "Tris, how's school?"

The blonde stabs her salad with a fork, trying to get a croton on the tines. "As good as school can be."

The husband speaks up this time. Tris has only seen him a few times since he and Evelyn married, but he hasn't changed. He's the stereotypical 'younger man' husband. Younger than his wife by about 15 years, probably has a six-pack, and a brilliant smile. "Tobias, are you doing soccer this year?"

"Yes."

The man reaches over from where he sits next to Tobias and claps him on the shoulder lightly. Tris feels her hand being squeezed harshly, almost like it's about to be ripped off. "That was my sport of choice." He explains, looking at Tris, probably mistaking her disgusted look for a confused one. "School's best goalie."

The blonde stares at the man with her mouth slightly open. "Awesome." She says with no emotion and he looks away from her, staring down at his food.

Silver wear clatters on a fine, porcelain plate and attention is directed towards Evelyn who's sending a look to her husband. "Tobias, we didn't invite you over here to have small talk." He rolls his eyes at that, but his hand crushes the blonde's and she can tell he's hurt by her words. "We have something important to tell you."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Her eyes narrow at him, almost in a glare, but Mr. Watts puts a hand on her cheek and she looks at him fondly, putting her hand over his. Tris almost gags.

Mr. Watts breaks the news. "We're expecting."

* * *

It didn't take long for Tobias to get out of his mother's house, but it took Tris forever to calm him down.

She chases him through the streets of their neighborhood before he takes a sharp turn into an old playground, abandoned by the children living near by when a new, better playground got put in a few blocks away.

"Tobias, stop!" She's been calling out for the past five minutes, trying to slow him down. It's nothing she can't handle; she can handle the pace, she can handle her heart thumping madly against her rib cage and the goosebumps chilling her arms. What she can't handle is him running away from her completely, not just to a playground.

"Why should I?" He finally replies, his voice a gasping cry, a pleading question from a broken voice. Lost. He stomps his feet in the sand, flails his arms wildly, and collapses in a swing. His face goes automatically into his hands with a groan.

"Why should you stop?" Tris asks gently, lifting herself into the swing next to his. Her feet don't touch the ground. She kicks her legs gently, listening to his heavy breathing, waiting for anything.

"She didn't stop for me." The brunet mumbles into his palms, his voice scratchy and frail, making Tris squeeze her eyes closed before a stray tear falls. "She didn't stop for me when she took me away from my dad. She didn't stop for me when she married another man. And now?" He paused, lifting his head towards the sky with a sniffle. She notices his reflective, glassy eyes. All composure except for the wobbling bottom lip. "Now she's having a baby and she's gonna forget about my existence completely."

Tris looks at him, leaning her hot cheek against the cool chains of the swing. "You know that's not true." She whispers softly.

His face contorts with disgust, anger, and anything in between. "Don't pretend I'm not right. You know how she is." Tobias snaps. "This baby is a second chance for her and her new, perfect husband. I was just the trial run."

She can't control herself anymore. She drags herself from her swing and places herself onto his lap, wrapping her arms around her neck. She feels the gently pressure of his hands on her hip, her lower back, holding her there. She buries her wet face into his black hoodie, letting him talk.

She can feel him break underneath her. His body curves around her, like a shell. Shaky sobs escape his mouth, quiet, little, cries, and she holds herself against him in the most comforting way. "Please." He chokes out the words through his hot tears. "Please don't leave me. I don't think I could manage you leaving again."

Her heart shatters into pieces, a window break as something is thrown through it. The pieces fall through into her stomach, cutting it up and bleeding her dry. She lets herself sob into his hoodie, her body becoming a shaky tree in a wind storm, just like his. "I won't leave." She assures him with a wiggling voice, little hands gripping the black material of the jacket. "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere."

They sit there, bodies breaking like bottles shattering as they're thrown to the ground, but maybe, someday, they can help clean up the broken shards together.


End file.
